The Children of Ipswich
by complete-randomalities
Summary: Each male member of the Covenant has a twin sister who serves as their anchor and as long as they live, the use of Magic does not harm the male even after Ascension. This is the story of The Children of Ipswich and how their lives change when Chase Collins comes to town who isn't exactly who he claims to be and has more than one secret up his sleeve.
1. The Children of Ipswich

_No one can say for certain how The Power first came to be. Not even the Book of Damnation recorded its beginning, but those who mastered it have always been hunted. _

_In the middle of the 17__th__ century, many escaped the brutal Witch-hunting in England and France by coming to America. As the brutal persecution of those with The Power spread throughout Massachusetts, the families of Ipswich formed a Covenant of silence. _

_For three hundred years it has kept them safe...until now. _

_This is the story of the current generation of the Covenant. _

_This is the story of The Children of Ipswich._

* * *

It was foggy that evening as four young men stood at the edge of a cliff and looked to the party going on in the distance below. The glows of the party's bonfires on the beach burned through the fog almost looking like fireflies in the night sky.

The four young men were Caleb Danvers, Pogue Parry, Tyler Simms, and Reid Garwin. They are the Sons of Ipswich and they were not alone. Four young women, each of whom resembled one of the young men, approached them through the fog.

Carrie Danvers, Parker Parry, Tina Simms, and Rayna Garwin were the names these young women bore, and they are the Daughters of Ipswich - The twins of each male member of the Covenant; The anchors to their Magic. As long as they existed their brothers would never have to fear the side effects of using their Magic, but they would never reach their full Power either.

_Previous members of the Covenant saw the existence of their twin as a blessing where others saw them as a curse. Perhaps the Daughters are both and it merely depends upon the perspective._

_The Children of Ipswich were connected to each other in ways beyond being a part of the Covenant. Reid and Tina are still going strong in their long-term relationship, Tyler and Rayna can't seem to make up their minds if they're together or not, Pogue has strong feelings for Carrie but hasn't been able to act on them, and Caleb…well, Caleb has been in love with Parker for as long as he could remember but never truly admitted it. Parker was the most innocent of them all and Caleb felt as if he would be taking advantage of her in some way. As far as Carrie is concerned, she feels the same for Pogue as he does for her but always figured he'd never see her that way because she's Caleb's sister and Parker would give anything to have the strength to tell Caleb how she feels about him._

_While this generation of the Covenant aren't the first to share strong bonds beyond that of their shared Power, they may be the first to successfully prevent them from breaking. Alas, like with all else time will tell._

Carrie stopped beside her brother and was the first to speak to the boys as she looked down at the party below in full swing. "Have you dropped in yet?" Since the boys were still present she doubted they had but wanted to be sure.

"We've been waiting for you." Reid sounded a bit annoyed by this because they were late. He figured it was Parker's fault for their delay since she didn't even want to come to this thing to begin with. It was nice to see her out and about though, might finally shake her out of that shell of hers.

"Well we're here now." Tina did a bit of a twirl dangerously close to the edge of the cliff and held her hand out to her boyfriend Reid. "Let's drop in." Her eyes turned pitch black as she pulled back her hand and fell from the cliff, laughing the whole way down.

"How the hell am I the one always chasing after her?" Reid conjured up his own Power, causing his eyes to also turn pitch black. "See you down there," he said to the others before taking a step off the cliff and dropping into the fog below.

Tyler and Rayna weren't about to waste any time so they followed suit, turning their eyes black and laughing as the pair of them jumped after their designated twins over the edge.

Caleb did not approve of this excessive use of their Power. "That's enough!" he called down to them, not wanting them to Use any more. He knew they all had their sisters, but that wasn't the point. The seduction could still take hold and lead them to darkness, and thus he was cautious of their Use.

"Lighten up, Caleb," Pogue said to his friend. "It's not going to kill us." Of course he knew the risks but he truly believed it would never apply to them. None of them were like some of the previous generations of their bloodlines. No current Son could ever bring harm to a Daughter. Pogue also that knew Parker would be worried about Using and going over, so he held onto his sister's hand for their trip off the ledge. "Trust me?"

Parker squeezed Pogue's hand tight and nodded, "Always". After turning their eyes black like the others, she stepped over with Pogue and didn't let go of his hand until they reached the ground below.

Carrie waited to speak to her brother until after Pogue and Parker took their leap. "Yeah, Caleb, it's not going to kill ya. Unless any of you Sons decides to kill any of us Daughters, _then_ you've got something to worry about." Carrie's voice was teasing, despite knowing how serious the situation could potentially become. If a Son ever killed a Daughter then the side effects of the Magic for the remaining Son would be active, but the Son would be at full Power. The Danvers twins were no strangers to this. And as much as she tried to make light of the possibility, it scared her.

"That's not something to joke about." Caleb hated when she acted like it was no big deal, especially when he knew that wasn't how she really felt about it and was simply putting up a front. "If the seduction takes hold…"

Carrie didn't need to hear about it again. Especially since the cost of that happening was so close to home. "I know, Caleb. But it's not going to happen. In case you haven't been paying attention, you Sons love us Daughters and wouldn't willingly kill us. Or have I missed some underlying hatred towards us?" Holding onto that was the only thing that kept her fear in check about any of the Sons letting the seduction take hold.

At Caleb's 'are you being serious right now?' expression, Carrie smirked as her eyes turned black. "Didn't think so."

Caleb let out a heavy sigh as Carrie fell backwards off the cliff before stepping off himself, using his Power to land safely on the sandy ground below just like the others had.

When Caleb finally landed in the 'typical superhero way', Tina gave him a slow clap, saying, "Way to stick the landing, Caleb. Just keep in mind it's hell on the knees."

"And she knows all about what's hell on the knees." Reid laughed as Tina charged at him for saying that. She got a couple of good smacks in before he wrapped his arm around Tina's shoulders, kissed her, and walked with her down the beach towards the party.

"I wish you'd quit talking about my sister like that!" Tyler picked up on the innuendo and didn't appreciate it one bit. It was one thing knowing that Reid and Tina were together but it was something else entirely hearing the details about it.

"Chill, Tyler," Rayna interjected as she skipped past him. "If it bothered her then Reid would have been blasted into the next county by now." She had no doubt that Tina would have done just that if Reid ever did anything to upset her that badly.

Tyler knew that – He knew Tina could handle herself but he still didn't like it. "I know but…" Since Tyler couldn't even bring himself finish that sentence he shuddered instead.

"Poor Tyler," Rayna laughed and proceeded to skip ahead of Tyler, resulting in him sprinting to catch up.

Pogue found that his sister was more quiet that evening than normal. Because of this, he draped his arm across Parker's shoulders and gently rubbed her head like he was giving her a noogie. "Don't get lost in this frizzy head of yours," he teased with a wide grin.

Parker got out of her brother's entanglement and gently pushed him away from her. "I was just thinking."

"That's the problem." Pogue danced his fingers on her head before she swatted them away. "You spend too much time up there and not enough out here." He held his hands out to the sides and turned around in a circle as if putting the entire world on display.

"Well maybe I'd spend more time focusing on what's out here if I didn't have to worry so much." Parker crossed her arms and stormed ahead but Pogue easily caught up with her.

"You have nothing to worry about." Pogue was serious about this. Parker had been worrying about the seduction of the Power ever since they were given it on their thirteenth birthday. "The Daughters of Ipswich are safe and sound, now and forever. Besides, we've all got each other's backs. And I for one know that Caleb would go after anyone who even tried to cause you harm." Pogue was no stranger to Caleb's affections towards Parker and even encouraged it for awhile, but Caleb was set in his thinking and there wasn't anything Pogue could do to change it.

"Caleb would do that for anyone." Parker looked back at Caleb and Carrie who were talking amongst themselves out of earshot. She wished Caleb was that protective because he felt more than an obligation or something to do so being the oldest. Parker didn't want to think about it so she spoke to her brother about what was prominent upon her mind. "I don't like how much we all Use, Pogue. Caleb is right – we shouldn't Use so much. The more we do – the more the _Sons_ do the more likely…"

Pogue stopped her right there. "No amount of Power is worth losing you. I know the rest of the Sons agree – none of us would ever give into the seduction. You Daughters are worth more to us than how Powerful we can become." He moved his head to match Parker's gaze because she was trying not to look at him then smiled because she finally caved.

"What's taking you so long?" Tina called out from where she stood near the party with Reid, Rayna, and Tyler. "We're getting old over here!"

Pogue shook his head lightly then turned to his sister. "Try and have some fun tonight, okay?" He cocked his head for her to come along.

"About damn time." Tina locked arms with Carrie and Parker when they joined them and Rayna linked her arm on the other side of Carrie. "I love making an entrance."

Carrie just laughed as the four of them walked into the party together with their brothers walking in a row right behind them.

When they broke apart after their entrance was made, Parker looked around and spotted her new roommate. "I want to introduce you to someone." She sprinted off to the other side of the bonfire to catch her roomie.

Caleb tensed a bit when Parker took off like that, especially because he didn't know who she wanted to introduce to them.

"Boyfriend?" Tina asked in a 'hmm?' manner, wondering who Parker was going to return with. "Girlfriend, perhaps?"

"Who's got a girlfriend?" Reid asked as he walked up behind Tina and wrapped his arms around her waist before resting his chin on her shoulder.

"We're trying to figure out who Parker ditched us for," Rayna replied and as if on cue, Parker returned with a new student.

Tina was the first to step forward and take in the look of the new girl and was not impressed with what she saw. "Who's this?" Tina has always been territorial as far as the Children of Ipswich were concerned and didn't like outsiders getting too close to them.

"This is my new roommate Sarah," Parker introduced. "Sarah, this is Tina, and that's her twin brother Tyler, Rayna and her twin Reid, my twin Pogue, that's Carrie and this here is her twin brother Caleb." Parker pointed to each one she named.

Sarah was surprised to meet four sets of twins at once. "Wow, that's a lot of twins."

"What else would we be?" Tina asked and to try and get Sarah's wheels turning, she added in, "We're The Children of Ipswich."

"The what?" Sarah asked, looking at Parker in confusion.

"It's a nickname for our families," Caleb answered after shooting a scolding look in Tina's direction. "And twins are very common."

"Gotta love genetics," Carrie grinned then rolled her eyes when Aaron Abbott started to make his way over to them. "I'm not here."

"He messing with you again?" As much as Pogue didn't want trouble he wasn't going to let anyone, especially the likes of Aaron Abbott to mess with Carrie – And not just because she was Caleb's sister.

Carrie liked how Pogue was so quick to defend her if needed, not because she was a damsel in distress or anything like that but because she's had feelings for Pogue since forever. "Nothing I can't handle."

Tina sighed heavily, "I'm bored. Let's dance." She grabbed Reid's hand and pulled him over to the biggest bonfire which was turned into the designated dance area. Tina wasn't surprised to find Tyler and Rayna coming as well. Ever since they were kids Rayna and Tyler reminded her of little puppies who would follow their twin or best friend around. Tina didn't mind it one bit because to her it meant they were loyal and loyalty was a big thing in Tina's book.

"And then there were five," Sarah joked, smiling a bit at Caleb as she did.

"Four," Carrie corrected since she was about to make herself scarce _but_ Aaron reached them before she could. "Here we go," she muttered, not sure what kind of crap Aaron was going to start this time.

"There you are," Aaron greeted Carrie as he checked her out. "Been looking everywhere for you. You're late."

"I'm not on your timetable or anyone else's, Aaron, so how about you just run along and find Kira or something." Carrie shooed her hand for him to get a move on.

"Now why would I want to find Kira when you're here?" Aaron asked suggestively as stepped forward only to find Caleb and Pogue in his path.

"Give it a rest, Aaron." Caleb didn't want trouble but he wasn't going to let Aaron act like this towards his sister.

"Can't you see I'm having a conversation?" Aaron had no issues in going through them to get to her if he wanted to.

"She clearly doesn't want to have a conversation with you," Pogue firmly replied. He forcefully kept his hands unclenched or else he would have likely decked this guy.

Caleb picked up on that and had a similar sentiment so tried to put out the fire before it got fanned. "We don't want any trouble, Aaron. Go find your girlfriend and leave Carrie alone."

"How about your move your ass so she and I can finish what we started?" Aaron got right up in Caleb's face before he started laughing. "Forget it, not worth my time." He looked over at Parker with a wicked grin upon his face. "I've got options." Aaron made his intentions clear by taking a couple steps towards Parker, only to be met with Caleb's hand firmly grabbing his arm to stop him.

"Don't go near her." Caleb's tone made it clear there would be trouble if he didn't listen.

In response to this, Aaron shoved Caleb and just when Caleb was about to retaliate, the new male student got in between there.

"Let's all take a step back, shall we?" The new guy looked right at Aaron, "Take a look around, dude. That girl you want to talk to has a posse of people to keep that from happening. Are you stupid enough to try and take them on?"

Aaron was about respond to that but - due to a bit of Magic Used by Reid who had heard and seen this whole thing - the guy behind Aaron started vomiting all over him. Reid was just as protective of Parker as the others, just showed it a bit differently.

"Nice one." Tina and Reid shared a clasping high five as they rejoined the group. While she thought what Reid did was epic, it would be nice to see Parker stand up for herself for once.

After what happened with Aaron's buddy, Parker had to put her hand over her mouth so she wouldn't end up vomiting as well. She moved it long enough to say, "I hope you have a good cleaner." Parker wasn't trying to be a bitch, she genuinely hoped he had a good cleaner or else that smell was _never_ going to come out of his jacket.

Thankfully something happened to keep things from getting more out of hand. The DJ cut the music so one of students could call out over the speakers, "Hey, guys! Dylan just called. He said he saw three cop cars headed this way on Old Dell Road."

That was the end of the party. All the students of Spencer Academy in attendance scrambled to their respective vehicles whether they were parked on the beach or in the nearby woods. The Children were no different. They headed for the woods where their varying vehicles were parked with the new guy and Sarah right along with them.

"Do you need a ride?" Sarah asked Parker since they were going to the same dorm being roommates and all.

"That'd be great." Parker turned to Carrie. "Do you mind? I'd rather not ride on the back of your dirt bike again."

Carrie couldn't help but laugh at the look of desperation on Parker's face. "No worries, Park. It'll save me a trip to Spencer before going home."

"I could use a lift," the new guy interjected with a smile.

Sarah didn't seem to have a problem with that. "Sure."

Carrie turned around and walked backwards long enough to say to him, "That was pretty impressive back there. Just the _right_ amount of caveman without being offensive."

He chuckled at that. "Thanks…I guess?"

"It's a compliment," Caleb assured then extended his hand for a shake. "Caleb. And that's my sister Carrie."

"Chase," he introduced and smiled in Carrie's direction before saying, "I thought that guy and I were about to go at it."

Carrie pointed at him over her shoulder as she walked away, saying, "Now _that_ would have been too caveman-ish for my taste."

Chase chuckled, "I'll have to keep that in mind."

Pogue briefly glared at Chase because of how flirty he sounded. True, Pogue and Carrie weren't dating and never had, but that didn't stop him from feeling what he felt. The only thing that kept him from doing or saying anything about it was because she was Caleb's sister. Even with all that aside, Pogue didn't get a good vibe from Chase and already didn't like the guy.

The clearing was just up ahead so the Sons got into Tyler's SUV, Parker got into Sarah's car with Chase, and the remaining sisters removed their bike jackets and helmets from their dirt bikes and put them on. Out of all the Daughters, Parker was the only one who was terrified of said bikes and thus didn't have one of her own.

Tina climbed onto her bike and called out in a teasing manner, "Ooo, Caleb, has someone been hit by Cupid's arrow?", because of the way he seemed to be staring at Sarah. With laughter, she lowered the visor of her helmet, not knowing that Sarah wasn't the one Caleb was staring at.

Rayna and Carrie followed suit before starting up their bikes and speeding off onto the dirt road before any of them could get caught by the cops.

The trio didn't get very far before a cop car was headed straight for them. This didn't faze Tina one bit and she smirked, "Let's see Hermione do this," before her eyes turned pitch black as she increased the speed of her dirt bike. Just before it hit the cruiser, the bike lifted into the air and flipped right over the car before landing behind and speeding away.

The cop slammed on the brakes and looked behind them to see all three speeding off. Their attention was soon taken away due to the sight of an SUV pulling out, so they didn't bother going after the bikes and started chasing after the car instead.

Once the three Daughters were far enough away, Carrie got in the lead then pulled over so the others would do the same. Once they did, she pulled off her helmet and stormed over to Tina.

"What the hell was that?" Carrie demanded to know. "Do you have any idea how much trouble that could have caused?"

"Just having a little fun," Tina answered without a care. "Oh, come on Carrie. You Use as much as the rest of us and don't even deny it."

"I don't Use when there is a risk of exposure and you know it!" Carrie shouted back.

Rayna could see this was about to get a bit explosive, perhaps quite literally, so she interjected there. "Come on, ladies. You're both well-endowed so put them away and let's get out of here."

If Rayna had the nerve to speak up like that then things were really about to boil over. Carrie knew this so she put her helmet back on, returned to her bike, and rode off.

Tina slammed her visor down and took off as well. To make a point she sped ahead of Carrie and broke every speed limit all the way back to Spencer.

Carrie scoffed as she took the other road to get home and shook her head at the fact that Rayna broke every limit right along with Tina. She wasn't sure what was more likely to kill them – their twin giving into the seduction for more Power and killing them to get it, or how freaking reckless they could be and not Using their Magic quick enough to save them.

* * *

End Part 1


	2. I would never

After safely arriving at Spencer Academy, Parker and Sarah headed to the Dorms with Chase as their escort. He told them he wanted to make sure they arrived there safely and since he was kind enough to prevent things from blowing up between the guys and Aaron at the bonfire, Parker didn't feel the need to refuse. Chase seemed like a nice guy and Parker was trusting that.

As they walked down the empty, and pretty dreary hallway of the Dorms, it was pretty clear they were some of the last ones to get back. Sarah nudged Parker and whispered so Chase couldn't hear, "If you think he's cute you should say something."

Parker honestly didn't even think of Chase like that, but since Sarah mentioned it Parker had to admit that Chase was cute. Would she say anything like that though? – No way. Besides, she was still holding out hope that the guy she really liked would notice her one day. Unfortunately Caleb was still oblivious to the fact that she'd had a crush on him for as long as she could remember. That seemed to be a trend where the Parry and Danvers sets of twins were concerned.

When Parker didn't reply, Sarah giggled and nudged her, which drew Chase's attention towards them.

"What's so funny?" he asked the ladies with a curious chuckle.

"Oh nothing," Sarah answered then added in with a teasing grin, "Parker was just asking if I thought you were a boxers or briefs guy."

Parker gasped loudly as her face turned bright red. "I didn't say that! I didn't even say anything!" she squeaked in embarrassment then whispered to Sarah loudly, "Why would you tell him I said that?!"

Chase chuckled at this display. "Probably to get that reaction out of you." He stopped when they did at a room then plucked off a spider from Parker's shoulder. "Sorry. You had a little critter there." Chase dropped it on the floor and squished it.

Parker shuddered a bit because she wasn't a fan of spiders but managed to say, "Thanks. They're pretty much…everywhere here."

"I can vouch for that. I woke up with one in my hair the other day." Sarah placed her hand on Parker's shoulder and looked at Chase. "But unlike Parker here, I didn't have a chivalrous knight to dispose of it for me. Sadly, I was on my own."

"But I'm sure your delightful roommate inspected your hair afterwards to make sure there weren't any lingering?" Chase turned to Parker with a crooked grin.

Parker nodded because Chase hit the nail right on the head with that guess. "And to make sure there were no nests." She smiled a bit when Sarah dramatically made a disgusted noise as she shook out her arms.

Sarah placed her hand on her own chest after that little dramatic event. "Given how many spiders there are in this place, I wouldn't be surprised if it happened to at least one student at some point." She turned to Chase with an 'I have an idea' expression on her face. "We're going into town tomorrow for supplies and stuff. Do you maybe want to come with us and pick up something?"

Chase didn't stop looking at Parker as he gave his reply. "Sure. I could always use an extra pack of boxers." He winked before backing away, saying, "I'm in 311. Call me."

"Okay," was all Parker replied before darting into her room without another word.

Sarah gasped, joking loudly as she followed, "Are you blushing? My dear, you are blushing!", and closed the door behind her.

* * *

Carrie made it home awhile before her brother did, but she didn't go inside. Instead, she sat on the front steps and waited for Caleb to make it back. And when he finally did, she got up and went over to him.

"Why didn't you go inside?" Caleb asked as he approached his sister. "You forget your keys again? Not that you need them."

"I figured a united front would be better if Mother was still awake." What Carrie meant by this was that if her mother happened to be drunk, she didn't want to deal with it on her own. Whenever their mother had too much to drink she would go on and on about what happened between their father and his sister. Carrie thought about it enough as it was and didn't need to be constantly reminded of it – despite the fact that their mother thought otherwise.

Caleb didn't need to hear any further explanation than that. "It's after midnight, she shouldn't still be awake." He hoped that would be the case anyway. The closer their birthday was the more unpredictable their mother became with her actions – actions being whether or not she had opened a bottle that day.

"I hope you're right." Carrier opened the door and went into their home that admittedly felt more like a museum to her than a place where one lived.

Caleb removed his jacket as he went inside and was about to go with Carrie upstairs when he heard their Mother call out to them. Clearly he was wrong about her already being in bed.

Their mother was in the study, sitting in front of a fire in the fireplace with a cigarette in one hand a glass of scotch or something of the like in the other. "Well if it isn't my twins. You're home early."

"It's after midnight, Mother," Caleb answered as he and Carrie joined her in the study. "What are you still doing up?"

Their mother sighed with a bit of melancholy. "Just thinking about my babies turning eighteen this week." She turned to look at them. "Oh, Caleb, you look so much like your father in this light. And dear Carrie, you still look more like your aunt than you do me. You've always looked so much like your father's sister."

Carrie crossed her arms a bit uncomfortably because she really didn't want to hear this again. It was something their mother would say time and time again, as if they didn't already know what it meant to be one set of the Children of Ipswich.

Caleb didn't want a repeat of this history lesson either. Especially since it still wasn't just history but a part of their everyday life. "You've told us before, Mother. Come on, let's get you up to bed." He wasn't demanding with his tone, but gentle. Caleb, while he didn't condone his mother's actions, could understand them. She had dealt with so much after their father did what he did, it was no wonder she turned to the easiest thing for a way to cope.

Evelyn Danvers looked at her children with such love and worry in her eyes. "I am so afraid I am going to lose you like I lost him." She finished off the glass in her hand. "And worse."

Caleb knew she was speaking directly to him in regards to that. "How many times do I need to tell you I'm not him?" Again, there was nothing more to his voice than a gentle nature, albeit a bit firmer this time since he was starting to take offense.

Evelyn scoffed at this. "That's the same thing he said about his father." She set the empty glass down on the end-table beside her and picked up an envelope. "Which is why I am taking precautions." She stood from the chair, slowly made her way towards her children, and handed Carrie the envelope. "I'm sending you away, darling. You leave in two days and you are not to come back."

Carrie looked at her mother his disbelief and went into the envelope's contents to see her passport in there and money but no clue as to a destination. "That's crazy, Mom. I'm not going anywhere." She thrust the envelope back at her.

Now Caleb was taking even more offense to his mother's words. "You don't trust me? You don't trust that I won't kill my sister?"

"I trusted that your father wouldn't kill your Aunt Wendy and you know what happened!" Evelyn adjusted her robe as she returned to her seat and refilled her glass. "Those Powers you and your friends got when you turned thirteen are nothing compared to what you'll get when you Ascend, but even then it won't be everything. It won't be full Power. The seduction for more Power will take hold just like it did with your father and his father. And I will be damned if I let it happen to you!"

"Do you think so little of me, Mother?" Caleb's voice was low, pained. "I could never, **would** **never** cause harm to Carrie no matter what. I am not father. I am not going to kill my sister."

Evelyn wanted to believe that so terribly but she was so afraid. "Your father claimed he wouldn't either. But as time went one and the seduction took hold, it soon became another story. And then he Used and Used, taking bits of his life away every time all for more Power. There is nothing to protect you from that seduction, Caleb."

Carrie had enough of this – she couldn't take it anymore. "That's it. I'm out. I'm not going to stand here and listen to you damn my brother any longer. Caleb isn't going to kill me after we Ascend, Mom, and I'm not going anywhere." She took her passport out of the envelope and threw it into the fire. "It's nice to know how much faith you have in my brother."

Evelyn gasped at Carrie's display and when she stormed off with Caleb following silently behind her she cried out, "I can't lose you both! I wouldn't survive it!" Her cries seemed to land on deaf ears for nothing was said to her in reply. Crying to herself, Evelyn brought her hands to her face and prayed that her worst fears wouldn't come to play.

* * *

Parker was reading in bed while Sarah was getting changed in the adjoining bathroom. Well, she was trying to read anyway. Her mind was elsewhere and definitely not on the written words in front of her, which was partly why she wasn't bothered when Sarah plopped herself down on the edge of the bed and took the book away.

"Bookworm," Sarah teased then giggled. "So, details, why are you and your friends called the Children of Ipswich?" She absentmindedly looked through Parker's Dickens novel before setting it aside.

Parker didn't think it'd be an issue answering Sarah to a degree since it was pretty much common knowledge anyway. "We're descendants from the first five families who founded the Ipswich Colony in the 1600's."

"Cool. So you guys are literally the Children of Ipswich." A 'wow' expression spread across her face as she moved over to mirror over the dresser, saying, "That's gotta come with responsibilities or something?"

Parker answered that as lightly as possible. "Or something." That was definitely the lightest reply she could come up with. It didn't hint that the 'something' was the fact they had Power and everything that came along with it.

Sarah checked herself out in the mirror, adjusting her hair into an updo then letting it fall. "So what's the deal with your group? Do you all date each other or something?"

Parker pulled her knees to her chest and shook her head before resting her chin upon them. "No. Well, Reid and Tina have been together for a few years and Tyler and Rayna can't seem to figure out what they are, but that's it. We're all just really close. We've literally known each other forever."

Sarah looked pleased to hear this. "So…Caleb isn't dating anyone?"

Parker should have figured that was where this line of questioning was going but since she didn't see it, it caught her off guard. "N – no," she stammered in reply. "He's not dating anyone."

Sarah plopped herself down on the end of Parker's bed again with a smile. "What can you tell me about Caleb? Since you know him so well."

As much as Parker didn't want anyone to date Caleb because she herself wanted to, she wasn't mean enough to keep it from happening or to try and deter Sarah from him. "He's a great guy," Parker answered honestly. "He's loyal, and kind, and anyone would be lucky to have him in their life."

Sarah smiled wide after hearing this. "That's good to know." She giggled and went over to her own bed.

Parker got off and grabbed her robe and shower caddy for a valid excuse to end this conversation. "I'm going to take a shower." She was about to leave the room but stopped when Sarah asked her something.

"Who's the fifth family? You said there were five."

Once again Parker felt like she should have seen that coming, but answered in a way she figured wouldn't spark any further questioning. "Stories say the fifth died during the Salem Witch Hunt." In case Sarah did try to say something else, Parker smiled, "Don't wait up," and left the room without another word.

* * *

Parker loved Spencer Academy that late at night because just about everyone was already in their rooms or still out and breaking curfew. No matter where they were it was quiet, peaceful, and Parker's favorite time to shower because there was very little chance of anyone else coming in.

Parker was finishing up her shower routine when a shiver went down her spine. It wasn't a normal kind of shiver but what Tina would have called a 'spidey-sense' one. She turned off the water and turned to face the frosted-glass shower door just as the electricity crackled and a bulb in the main area of the shower room burst.

"Who's out there?" Parker called out as she pulled her ankle length bathrobe off the hook and put it on. "Tina is that you?" She grabbed her shower caddy and slowly stepped out of the shower stall but didn't see anyone else in there.

Parker couldn't shake the feeling that she wasn't alone but there was no one she could see. Upon seeing the broken glass from the bulb, she Used just enough to repair it and return it to the light fixture above. The last thing she wanted was for herself or anyone else to get cut on the broken glass so she justified her Use, even though she felt like she shouldn't have done it.

Since there apparently wasn't anyone else in there, Parker grabbed her clothes from the counter and was about to leave but didn't make it to the door before feeling someone touch her back. She screamed and whipped around to see who it was but still found no one present. This made her believe that one of the Children were messing with her and that it was likely Tina.

Parker wrapped her arms around herself as much as she could given the items in her arms and sniffled to keep any tears of fear at bay. "That wasn't funny," she said quietly then left the shower room as quickly as possible.

She was making her way back to her dorm room when suddenly she felt like someone else was there again. Parker slowly turned around and saw no one but when she turned back, Reid was standing right there, making her scream again.

Reid laughed at her reaction. "You scare too easily, Parker." He was about to tease her some more but saw how she looked like she was either about to cry or had cried already. "Jeeze, Park. I didn't mean to scare you that bad."

Upon hearing that, Parker asked him accusingly, "Was that you?"

Reid wasn't sure what she was talking about. "Was what me?"

"Was that you in the shower room? Did you Use to scare me?" Parker thought it was Tina but perhaps it was Reid. Granted he'd never Used to play pranks on her before but there was always the first time.

Reid shook his head. "It wasn't me." He looked down the hall towards the shower room. "You're saying someone Used while you were in the shower?"

Parker held her caddy and clothes close to her again. "Yeah. I could feel it, Reid." She eyed him a bit skeptically. "It wasn't you?"

"No, it wasn't," Reid honestly reiterated. "I'd never Use on you, Parker. None of us would. Pogue and Caleb would have our heads if we tried." Well, that and they all cared too much about Parker to mess with her like that. Reid could tell she was pretty freaked so he cocked his head down the hall where her dorm room was. "I'll walk you to your room."

"Thank you," Parker gratefully replied and went with him down the hall until she arrived at her door. "Goodnight, Reid."

"Night, Parker." Reid waved at her and waited until she was safely inside before going on his own way, figuring that Parker was just imagining what happened in the shower or was just being paranoid. Like he said, none of them would ever Use on her like that so he wasn't worried.

* * *

It was 2AM when Carrie awoke with a startling jolt. She felt such a strong surge of Power that woke her from a deep sleep. At least that's what she felt like it was but wanted to be sure because she'd never felt anything quite like it before.

She got out of bed and slowly crept down the hall to Caleb's room. Carrie was just about to knock on his door when he opened it. Since Caleb didn't seem surprised to see her that, she could make the guess that he was on his way to see her. "You felt it, too?"

"Yeah," Caleb replied with a deep breath. He stepped aside to let Carrie enter so they wouldn't wake up their mother who finally went off to bed. "Someone really Used tonight."

"That's an understatement." Carrie walked into Caleb's room a little ways before turning around to face him. "That was _big_, Caleb. That was like twin-Power big. That was like tapping into as much Power as they could big!"

Caleb knew all this but also knew not to stop Carrie when she needed to get something out of her system. When she finally finished he spoke to her reassuringly. "I'll find out who Used that much."

"_We_ will find out who Used that much," Carrie corrected with conviction. "Because how much Power was Used was the kind the seduction will latch onto and make them want more. And I'll be **damned** if this generation isn't better than all the ones before. No Sons are killing Daughters on my watch."

* * *

End Part 2


	3. Fear

Carrie sat in the front seat of her brother's Mustang as he sped down the road while talking to Pogue on the speakerphone. While listening in to her brother filling Pogue in on what they felt the night before and how he suspected that it was probably Reid who Used that much, Carrie read the article on the front page of the newspaper. A Spencer Academy student was found dead by the police at the Dells as a result of a drug overdose.

She just flipped the paper over to continue reading the second half of the article when Pogue's next part of the conversation consisted of him asking, "What makes you think it was Reid?"

"It's always Reid," Carrie answered before her brother had the chance. "Which means he dragged Rayna into it as well since it felt like mega-twin Power. There's no way he could have mustered up all that Power on his own." Theoretically that much Power could be called upon but it was very strenuous for those who haven't Ascended yet. Honestly, Carrie couldn't imagine Reid putting that much effort into it which was why she thought Rayna helped him.

When twins joined their Power together it almost equaled in strength of one who has Ascended. This was something they rarely did because it gave the Son a taste of what could be and would create an opening for the seduction so they were very careful with joining Power.

"While Carrie has a point, we've never felt it when the Power has been Used before. Have you?" Caleb kept his eyes on the road as he spoke.

"No, never, but maybe you two are more sensitive to Using because you're both so close to Ascending. I don't know."

Carrie and Caleb shared a look with each other then because it certainly seemed plausible. "Maybe," Carrie replied as she tossed the newspaper onto the dash.

"I don't know," Caleb continued as he adjusted his grip on the steering wheel. "But I'm telling you, man, it was strong enough to wake us both from a dead sleep."

Pogue's voice was quieter as he said, "You know, he's only using his Power to piss you off 'cause he's jealous you're Ascending first."

"Being so reckless with the Power leads to the seduction taking hold," Carrie shot back. "If Reid is stupid enough to do that and risk Rayna's life then maybe he should be put down before he has the chance to do the same to her." Okay, Carrie would never even attempt to kill Reid or any of the others, but she was pissed and scared and lashing out.

Pogue picked up on this. "You don't mean that, Carrie. Say it all you want, but you don't mean it."

Carrie tried to stay firm with her threat but between Pogue's words and Caleb's look, she caved. "Fine. Maybe I don't, but…"

Her sentence was cut off when a pale face, pure white-eyed, decaying image of the Spencer student who died shot forward into the front seat between them. This being screamed before decaying rapidly and dissipating into the air before vanishing.

The twins jumped fifty feet because they were scared half to death and Caleb ended up going into the left lane because of it. Carrie saw the oncoming eighteen-wheeler truck coming straight for them and shouted, "Caleb!" right before impact.

Their combined Use of Power shattered their own beings as well as the vehicle while the truck passed through them and reconstituted themselves rightly at the end. Caleb hit the brakes and came to a screeching halt and then realized he and Carrie were tightly holding hands. They needed another moment of confirmation that they were indeed alive before letting go.

Pogue had heard all this on his end of the line and repeatedly called out to them, worried to hell that something terrible had just happened.

When Carrie took back her hand, she placed it on her chest because her heart wouldn't stop pounding. "Was that…"

"Yeah," Caleb answered, knowing what she was going to ask, "it was a Darkling." He picked up the phone from the floor and talked to Pogue. "We just saw a Darkling. It was in the form of that dead kid they found at the Dells."

"I saw his picture in the newspaper. But who would send you guys a Darkling?"

Carrie was still pretty freaked out about what had happened. "I don't know but something's wrong, guys. I can feel it."

Caleb concurred completely. "I can, too."

Pogue was determined to get to the bottom of this now. "Look, we'll talk to Reid tonight. He'll probably be at Nicky's with the others, so we'll see him then."

"Definitely." Caleb ended the call and dropped his phone into the cup holder beside him. He could tell Carrie was still pretty freaked about what happened, but didn't draw attention to it. Carrie never liked showing weakness to anyone so he just went on with their plan for the day. Caleb put the car into gear and sped off towards town to accomplish what they set out to do.

* * *

While Caleb was picking up a prescription, Carrie was in the pain relief aisle. She had a splitting headache so she picked up something for it that would hopefully help until she got home and whipped up something else.

"Head still bothering you?" Caleb surmised as his sister set the bottle of pain reliever on the counter with the other purchases. It wasn't surprising given what they had to Use their Power for in order to survive an otherwise deadly car crash.

"Yep." Carrie leaned back against the counter as Caleb paid for everything. "Unfortunately I'm not invincible."

"Could have fooled me," Caleb joked and tossed her the bottle while he kept the prescription bag in his possession.

Carrie caught it with ease and was about to open it up but spotted Parker with a shopping basket in hand, so she went over to her friend instead. "Hey, Park. I didn't know you were coming into town today."

"Hi, Carrie." Parker saw Caleb behind Carrie and smiled with a light blush tinging her cheeks, "Hi, Caleb."

Caleb stepped up and joined the ladies. "How're you doing, Parker?"

"Fine," she smiled meekly as she lifted up her shopping basket. "We're picking up some essentials and then going the bookstore."

"Did they finally track down that first edition for you?" Caleb remembered how Parker had been looking for a first edition of a book written by a 'nobody' that never amounted to anything, nor was it worth anything. He couldn't remember anything about the book or author itself, just that Parker wanted it.

Parker's smile grew wide and her face even brightened when he asked her that, and answered excitedly. "Yes, finally! I can't wait to read it."

Carrie was glad for her friend about her latest book find, but she felt the need to ask, "Who's 'we'?"

"Talking about me?" Sarah asked Parker jokingly as she lightly hip bumped her. "My ears were burning." She turned her attention to the twins then. "Hi."

Carrie smiled and waved briefly while Caleb smiled and politely greeted her, saying "Hi there."

Parker's brightness dimmed a bit because she thought maybe Tina was right and Caleb did have a thing for Sarah. She was about to excuse herself to make her purchases when Chase snuck up behind her and shouted, "Boo!"

Parker hated that she shrieked a bit, but did, and soon turned red because of it.

Sarah lightly backhanded Chase for that. "Don't be mean."

"I wasn't trying to be," Chase laughed as he looked at Parker. "I was trying to make Parker's face red again. It compliments her."

Caleb's face hardened ever so slightly as Parker's complexion seemed to turn an even deeper shade of red. He had no claim on Parker per his own doing but that didn't mean he liked it when other guys flirted with her.

Chase looked between the twins as he asked, "Are you going to join us to the bookstore? Parker's picking up…" he turned back to her, "The Dreamer by George Rockham, is it?"

Parker shook her head and laughed lightly. "No, that's not it."

Chase snapped his fingers and pointed at her. "Right. That was the book from Penelope."

"You've seen Penelope?" Carrie found that hard to believe. "Doesn't seem like your kind of movie."

"Perhaps there is more to me than meets the eye." Chase winked at her with a little grin.

"They're showing it at the theater for their 'throwback weekend', anyone want to come?" That was Parker's lame way of asking a particular person if they wanted to go since she didn't have the guts to do it directly.

Chase shrugged with a smile. "Why not? I'll come."

"We've got errands to run for our mom," Carrie began but Caleb countered with,

"I can do the errands. Go ahead." Caleb encouraged this not only because he wanted to give his sister a relief and distraction from the Darkling earlier, but because he'd feel better if someone was keeping an eye on Parker.

"You sure?" Carrie could tell by the look on Caleb's face that he was encouraging her to go and honestly was relieved because of it. "Cool. Let's do it."

Parker looked at her roommate with a smile, "Want to come, Sarah?"

"No, thanks. I've seen it enough times. But thank you for the invite." Sarah smiled at Parker and looked briefly at Caleb before turning back to Parker with a slightly larger smile.

Parker took the hint because she already knew that Sarah wanted her to basically talk her up to Caleb, so she reluctantly asked Caleb, "Do you want some company? Otherwise Sarah is stuck doing nothing all day."

Caleb felt a bit of a sting when Parker seemed to be urging Sarah his way but decided to think of it as doing Parker a favor, so he obliged by asking Sarah, "You up for doing errands?"

"Sure," Sarah instantly answered, happy by this turn of events.

Carrie was about to ask Caleb if that was such a good idea but kept it to herself. She trusted her brother and the fact that he knew what he was doing. But if there ever came a time that changed then she'd definitely wouldn't hold her tongue.

Parker excused herself then, saying, "I'm going to cash up. Meet you outside." She smiled meekly and went to the register. Her expression dropped a bit when she saw a laughing Sarah walking with a smiling Caleb down the street. It's her own fault but it didn't stop what she felt. Pushing that feeling down, she smiled kindly at the cashier and proceeded with the purchases.

* * *

After the outing of the bookstore and movie, Parker, Carrie, and Chase met up with Caleb and Sarah at Nicky's. They managed to get a big enough table for all of them, but they usually managed to anyway. That particular table always seemed to be left open for the Children of Ipswich. Four sets of twins tended to freak people out sometimes – especially when they were all together at once.

Carrie intended to enjoy herself before the confrontation with Reid she knew was coming, so she pushed thoughts of that to the side and added into the present conversation about the Penelope movie and how Chase had actually seen it before as well as liked it.

"I gotta be honest with you, Chase. I thought you only learned enough about the movie to impress Parker here, but when you started quoting the lines, I admit I was proven wrong." Carrie laughed as she twirled the straw around in her soda.

"I told you I was a fan. First time I watched it was because I lost a bet. I don't think any of my buddies thought I'd actually like the film." Chase smiled at Carrie and winked at Parker after saying it.

Parker moved some of her long, frizzed-wavy hair behind her ear – something she did when she didn't know what to say – and felt relieved when she spotted Pogue coming towards the table. "How's the bike?" Parker asked her brother, hoping the change of conversation would stick.

"Fixed now." Pogue kissed the top of Parker's head before draping his leather jacket on the back of the seat beside her. "Good day?"

"I got the book." Parker reached into her bag and pulled it out to show it off with pride. "Then Chase and Carrie went to the movies with me."

"Did they now?" Pogue looked Chase over, not quite liking the fact the guy spent the day with his sister and Carrie. After a stoic glare, he asked Parker, "Want some fries or anything?"

Parker nodded with a smile. "That'd be awesome. Thank you." She would have already ordered them but felt self-conscious doing so and thus had just been drinking soda since their arrival.

"Be right back." Pogue pointed at his twin with a smile. "Put the book away now. Don't keep your nose in it all night." He gestured around them, "There's actual stuff going on here."

Parker smiled meekly and put it away because if Pogue hadn't said anything, she probably would have started to read it and tune out everything going on around her.

Carrie drank the last bit of her soda and declared, "I need a refill. Anything for you guys?" After receiving an array of 'noes', she scooped up her glass from the table with an, "I'll be Bach."

"Dibs on Mozart," Caleb instantly answered with a chuckle and smiled when Parker added in with laughter,

"Tchaikovsky for me. The Nutcracker is my favorite."

Since Chase and Sarah both looked confused, Caleb explained. "When we were kids, Carrie kept pronouncing 'back' like 'Bach' so it turned into us claiming our favorite composers. It's lame but it stuck."

Sarah giggled with a smile, "Well I think it's adorable."

While Carrie was getting a refill she spotted Pogue, Reid, and Tyler placing money on a pool table while looking at a girl at the bar. It didn't take her long to figure out what they were betting on since it wouldn't be the first time and when the young woman's skirt went flying up to reveal she wasn't wearing any underwear, she knew she was right and it annoyed her greatly among other things. After a moment's thought, Carrie decided to turn the tables on them.

"Let's see how you like it," Carrie said to herself and acted like she was rubbing her forehead as her eyes flashed black, making Reid's, Tyler's and Pogue's pants all drop. She didn't look at the result but smirked in satisfaction when she heard them exclaim in surprise while a lady or two whistled.

Tina and Rayna just entered Nicky's at this point and they joined their brothers and Pogue at the pool table. "What did we miss?" Tina asked as she leaned back against it.

"Karma," Pogue answered with an amused grin as he scooped up his winnings while watching Carrie walk away from the bar. "And her name is Carrie Danvers."

The girls didn't get a chance to ask Pogue to elaborate because he was already headed back towards the table. Since he wasn't giving them anything, Tina crossed her arms and looked at not only her twin but her boyfriend with an inquiring brow.

Tyler was the one who caved. He usually was the first one who did when it came to his sister. "Carrie Used and dropped our pants for payback of a bet."

Rayna let out a laugh at that, she couldn't help it even as Reid mildly glared at her for it. "I'm sorry, it's just…wow that's so out of character for Carrie. Especially since she just gave us a lecture about Using in public."

"Well, I don't know about you but I'm going to take her current actions as permission to Use tonight as we please." Tina spotted Aaron and his buddies nearby and grabbed a cue stick, saying, "I've got a better idea for a bet. Let's play."

It didn't take them long to figure out what Tina was thinking and jumped right on board with that plan.

Meanwhile, Carrie sat at the table with Parker and Sarah while Caleb, Chase, and Pogue played a game of foosball. Carrie thought this was a good time to casually ask Sarah, "Have fun with errands today or did they get tedious for you?"

"I enjoyed the time out and the company." Sarah smiled and suddenly got excited, saying, "I wish I brought my camera though. When we drove by the old Putman Barn I so wanted to take a picture. It was perfect."

Carrie took a sip from her drink before asking, "You went by the old Putnam Barn?"

Sarah nodded. "Yeah, on the way to your caretaker's place. Gorman invited me inside when he thought I was Rayna but when Caleb told him I wasn't her, he fired off a gun and shouted I wasn't welcome. That was the only off part of the day. Otherwise it was excellent."

Carrie had to contain what she felt about that because she didn't want to draw any unwanted attention to herself and was about to ask a follow-up question but Sarah spoke before she could.

Sarah waved her hand towards the guys at the Foosball table and asked, "Now how did that happen?"

Parker didn't understand the question. "What do you mean?" Pogue and Caleb breaking off to do their own thing wasn't anything new.

"Well one second we're all together having fun and the next we're sitting here watching them have fun. So how did that happened?"

Carrie didn't get why Sarah was so bothered by this turn of events. "They're doing their own thing. We don't need to depend on them to have fun."

"I'm not saying that we do," Sarah countered, "but that doesn't mean we can't draw back their attention." She held her hand out to either Parker or Carrie. "Anyone got a quarter?"

Parker went into her bag and pulled out her coin purse to hand over the requested coin. She had to admit she was a bit curious where this was going.

"You're the best." Sarah giggled and went over to the jukebox. Moments after her selection was made, 'I love Rock and Roll' started playing over the speakers.

"I love this song," Parker called out with laughter but stopped laughing as soon as Sarah pulled Caleb away from his Foosball game to dance.

Carrie caught Parker's change in demeanor, it was pretty obvious what she was feeling. She reached out and squeezed Parker's hand that was on the table. "Just tell him already."

"There's nothing to tell," Parker lied as she took back her hand and moved some more hair behind her ear. With her eyes down she said to Carrie, "Maybe you should take your own advice."

Before Carrie could even respond to that, Chase came over to ask her, "Would you like to dance?"

Carrie accepted Chase's hand with a, "Don't mind if I do." Since Pogue didn't seem too interested in dancing with anyone, she wasn't going to hold out for wishful thinking that he might ask her. As Carrie stood she said to Parker, "Ask someone to dance," then went with Chase to the dancing area.

Carrie moved with Chase to the music and laughed because she was having a lot of fun. And honestly, she couldn't remember the last time she'd had this much fun that didn't involve any Use of Power. She was just a normal girl dancing with a normal guy and enjoying the hell out of it.

Alas, everything must come to an end. What brought that moment to a halt was a fight breaking out between Reid and Aaron that took itself outside. Caleb and Pogue were already on their way out there and since she saw Rayna and Tina following, Carrie intended on going outside, too.

"I better go with them." Carrie was about to get Parker and go, but stopped when Chase asked,

"Is that such a good idea? Want me to come with you or anything?"

"Thanks, but it's alright we can handle it. Just stay with Sarah." Carrie made her getaway now with Parker who was all ready to go out with her.

By the time they got out there, whatever confrontation with Aaron and Reid was over because Nicky broke it up with a baseball bat. Not that he had to use the bat, just made it very clear he had one and wasn't afraid to use it.

"Do I even want to know what that was all about?" Carrie asked as she went down the stairs and over to the rest of the Children when the others went back inside.

Since the Children of Ipswich were the only ones left out there, they could speak relatively freely.

"The jackass bet me I couldn't make the combo shot and guess what, I did." Reid sounded pretty damn smug about that.

"Let me guess – it was shot that needed a little assistance? Dammit, Reid, when are you going to grow up?" Carrie rubbed her temple a bit because her patience was lacking now.

"They were suckers!" Reid laughed. "They bought right into it. What's the big deal?"

"There isn't one," Tina chimed in, coming to his defense. "It's not like he simultaneously dropped the pants of three people. No, wasn't that you, Carrie?"

Reid laughed because of the look on Carrie's face. It was the look of someone who had just been put in their place and didn't care for it very much. "Swish. Nothing but net." He draped his arm over Tina's shoulders. "Let's get back inside."

Before Reid took a step, Caleb shot out his hand to stop him. "I'm not done talking with you, man."

Reid didn't take kindly to being stopped like that so he grabbed hold of Caleb's wrist as his eyes turned pitch black while Using his Power on him.

Caleb's hand crunched and his veins darkened. "Reid, stop." Since Reid didn't listen, he turned his own eyes black and Used the Power to throw Reid away and into a wall across the way.

"What the hell!" Tina shouted and physically pushed Caleb for that before going over to Reid to check on him.

Rayna was about to do the same but Tyler grabbed hold of her arm to keep her back because he had a feeling that this was just going to escalate and he didn't want her getting caught in the crossfire.

"What will it take to get it through your head?" Caleb shouted at Reid, though the message was for them all. "It's seductive! The more you Use the Power the more likely it is for the seduction to take hold. You know what happens when it does. You've seen it. I'm not going to stand by and let your idiocy cause the death of your sister!"

With the assistance of Tina, Reid got to his feet and his blood boiled when Caleb said that about him and his twin. "I would never kill her!" He used his Power to raise a beer keg and throw it at Caleb who in return deflected it and threw Reid back into a pile of crates and glass bottles.

Reid got to his feet, leaped over the pile and Used the Power to raise a multitude of glass bottles while Caleb raised the kegs. Before either could make the next attack, Parker ran in between them and shot out her hands, screaming, "Enough!"

Parker's Power disarmed the Sons as well as knocked them on their asses. She stood there with pitch black eyes and panted before shouting at them again, "This is lunacy! We do not Use on each other! We're the Children, dammit! We don't do this!"

Tina stood on the sidelines with wide eyes because she had _never_ seen Parker react or Use like that before. Didn't stop Tina from being damn proud of her though – Parker was finally doing more than standing by and just letting things happen.

Carrie slowly walked towards Parker because she had never seen an outburst like this before coming from her and honestly sure what to expect. "You didn't feel it, Parker. You don't know how Reid Used last night."

"Reid didn't Use!" Parker shouted back as her eyes returned to normal. "Someone Used their Power to mess with me last night and it _wasn't_ Reid. He was the one who made sure I got back to my room alright. Believe whatever the hell you want but you know that he wouldn't ever mess with me like that! You know that!" Right after it happened Parker hated to admit she forgot that fact when she asked Reid if he did Use on her but was soon reminded of what she just said to Carrie; Reid would never Use on her like that.

Parker looked right at Caleb as she repeated in a more level yet still emotional voice, "You know that." With nothing else to say and having reached her limit of dealing with bullshit, she picked up her bag from the ground and started walking away. Instead of going back into Nicky's, she headed down the street.

Pogue was about to follow but stopped when Rayna said, "I got this," and sprinted off after her to make sure she'd get back to the Dorms alright. Of all the people who could understand where Parker was coming from in that moment, it was Rayna. After all they were alike in almost as many ways as they were different.

Reid, Tyler, and Tina went back into Nicky's without another word, leaving Pogue, Caleb, and Carrie outside.

Caleb dragged his hand down his face. "If it wasn't him then who the hell was it? Tina? I wouldn't put it past her messing with Parker like that." He knew there were times that Tina would do something to get a desired reaction out of somewhere.

Carrie didn't know one way or the other and turned to Pogue to ask, "Did you know someone was Using on Parker last night?" It seemed like something she'd have mentioned if to no one else but Pogue.

Pogue shook his head because he didn't know. "No. She never said a word, but she never really does." He felt like a failure as a brother in that moment because he's supposed to protect her from anything and everything. "I'm getting answers from Tina **now**."

Carrie side-stepped to keep him from bursting into Nicky's. "After what just happened I think we all need to take a breather. We're all stressed and worried. No matter how many times we make it clear that a Son will never give into the seduction and take it out on a Daughter, that doesn't mean it will never happen and it's scary as hell. I gave into that fear but we can't. We can't let that fear keep us from finding out what's going on, okay?"

Carrie placed her hands on Pogue's shoulders to center him and hold his attention. "Like I already vowed to my brother; No Sons are killing Daughters. Not on my watch."

* * *

End Part 3


	4. Spiders

After Parker got back to the Dorms, she drank some herbal tea Rayna had given her and went straight to bed. She didn't even hear when Sarah got back she was sleeping so soundly. Unfortunately for Parker, this did not last for long.

At some point in the night, Parker felt something on her skin. It started out so subtle like the feeling of a stray hair brushing across your skin. The sensation gradually grew until the feeling became so intense that it woke her up. Parker touched her arms in a half asleep fashion and when she felt the source, she jolted wide awake.

Parker screamed in horror as she swiped off the spiders crawling upon her arm, only to scream all the more when she discovered there were spiders everywhere. On every surface of her dorm room there were those dreaded arachnids. Parker rushed through the swarm on the floor to get to Sarah's bed, frantically telling her to wake up. When Sarah finally rolled over, her mouth was wide open with a multitude of spiders pouring right out of it, spreading out over her entire body.

It was that moment Parker awoke for real. Her body drenched with sweat, her heart beating a mile a minute. The dream - the nightmare felt so real she needed a moment to realize it was just that; a nightmare. Despite knowing this, she needed to make sure so she turned to check on her roommate. Upon seeing that Sarah was sound asleep, Parker slowly climbed out of bed and snuck out of her room. This wasn't something she normally did – snuck around well after curfew – but Parker needed to see her brother after that dream - that nightmare.

As Parker walked down the dark hall - save for the dim glow of every other ceiling light - she couldn't help but feel like someone was watching her. It was the same feeling the felt that night in the showers. Parker didn't know if it was just her paranoia or if the shadows were truly watching her every move. Either way, she ran down the hall and up the stairs to Pogue's floor.

It felt like an eternity to reach her brother's room, there was a moment where it looked as if it would take an eternity to get there. As soon as she stepped foot on his floor, the hallway seemed to extend to infinity but that illusion didn't last long, just long enough to make her question if she'd actually seen it. This encounter made Parker rush to Pogue's door and knock frantically upon it. Her breathing quickened as in the corner of her eye she'd swear she could see a shadow figure coming towards her, only for it to disappear when the door opened and Pogue stepped out to join her.

Pogue had never seen Parker looking so scared and disheveled in his life. Scared and disheveled, yes, but nothing like this. "Parker, what happened?" He stepped aside for his sister to enter his room – clearly this wasn't a hallway conversation.

Parker went into his dorm room and started pacing. Thankfully he had a single dorm so she didn't have to worry about unwanted ears listening in. "I – I had a nightmare, but it was so real, Pogue. It felt so real. There were spiders. I – I could feel their legs crawling all over me, their teeth biting me, and then they started coming out of Sarah's mouth like they had filled her up inside to the point where there wasn't any more room! Then on the way here I felt like I was being watched…Like – like the shadows had eyes or something. And out there, in – in the hall there was something out there. I know there was." Parker didn't realize she was crying until her voice broke a bit, saying, "Either I'm going insane or someone's Using on me, Pogue. Someone's Using on me and I don't know why. I wish they'd just stop. It's not funny."

Pogue hated seeing his sister like this and hugged her tight. If it wasn't Reid then it was Tina – it had to be. The others either cared about Parker too much to play these 'pranks' or didn't have the guts to do it knowing she had himself and Caleb on her side. Not wanting to make Parker worry about who he chose to blame, he instead made a vow. "You're not going insane, Parker. We're going to figure this out, I promise." Those were the words he said to her but what he meant was he was going to make damn sure they never messed with his twin again.

* * *

The next day, Tina walked down the hall on her way to class with the other students when Pogue appeared out of nowhere, took hold of her arm, and pulled her into a different hallway. She had no idea what his intentions were, so she lightheartedly pointed out, "Hate to break it to you, Pogue, but you've got the wrong Daughter if you're hoping for a quickie."

Pogue was in no mood for her antics or her attitude. After letting her go once they were far enough away, he flexed his hand in an attempt to control himself. "You need to stop messing with Parker." That wasn't how he intended on starting this conversation in his head but those were the words that came out of his mouth. It was appropriate though, Pogue's very protective of his sister after all and he thought Tina was the cause of Parker's distress. So while this may not have started out as initially planned, it wasn't out of character for his thought process in the least.

Tina scoffed incredulously at this because she honestly couldn't believe it. Okay, perhaps a teensy-tiny part of her could since she was known for her pranks in the past, but not this. Definitely not this. "Now you think I'm the one who's Using on Parker? Newsflash, dipshit, I'm not. I'm not and Reid's not. None of us are!"

"Someone is!" Pogue shouted back at her before returning his voice to a lower level as to not draw attention to them. "I've sensed the excess Use. Both Carrie and Caleb can sense it, they've both seen a Darkling, and Parker came to my dorm in tears last night because someone was screwing with her again. You're the only other person who fits that M.O., Tina."

Tina took strong offense to those accusations and pressed a firm finger into his chest. "Darklings aren't my style, Pogue. Those things freak me the hell out and you know it. And as far as Parker's concerned, I may be a bitch, but I love Parker. I would never knowingly do something to cause her pain. Did I Use this weekend? Yeah, I did. I'm not going to deny that, but not excessively and **never** on Parker. Not like that." She pointed down the hall and spoke with emphasis to make sure Pogue this conversation was over. "Now I'm going to get to class and I highly suggest you should to before you shove your foot any further down your throat."

Before Pogue could get a word out one way or another, Tina stormed off down the hallway to get to the lecture hall for class. After confronting Tina he was pretty torn. Pogue had no clue if they were telling the truth or if Tina was a far better liar than anyone gave her credit for. Either way it was unnerving because they still had no definite answer, and that didn't sit well with Pogue at all.

* * *

In the lecture hall, Parker sat in her usual seat and looked around for Pogue. Usually he was seated and ready before most of the other students who had already arrived, but he wasn't there yet. Parker hoped that everything was alright and tried not to think the worst as she prepared herself for class.

"Where did you disappear to last night?" Sarah asked as she plopped into the seat beside her. With a bit of playful smile and giggle, she asked, "Did you sneak off into Chase's room?" Sarah walked her fingers up Parker's arm with a grin.

Parker moved her arm away with a, "No. I needed to see my brother." That was the truth, even without getting into details about the terrifying nightmare.

Sarah looked disappointed to hear this. "Well that's no fun. I was looking forward to some juicy details." With a little sigh, she added in, "Perhaps it's for the best. He seems to be interested in Carrie anyway. I'd hate to have a guy get in between your friendship."

"If Carrie likes Chase then she can date him. I'm not interested." Parker set her usual array of writing utensils on the writing platform in front of her, only to have a pair of pencils to be snatched up by Sarah. "I need those."

"Chill, Parker. You can borrow one of mine." Sarah bit onto the pencils and started moving her hands through Parker's hair. When Parker tried to move from her grasp, Sarah said with a muffled voice due to the pencils, "I'm just putting up your hair." Once she stopped fidgeting, Sarah went back to what she was doing.

After gathering up the mass that was Parker's hair and twirled it around at the back of her head, Sarah took a pencil from her mouth, wiped it on her arm for good measure, stuck it through Parker's bun and repeated the same actions with the remaining pencil.

"Excellent." Sarah beamed as she adjusted some stray hairs in front of Parker's face before pulling a compact mirror from her bag. "Take a look if you don't believe me."

"I don't normally wear my hair up," Parker stated as she looked into the mirror. As soon as her reflection came into view, she froze for a moment because it actually complimented her appearance. "Wow…"

"You should wear it up more often. No guy will be able to take his eyes off you if you do." Sarah nudged her playfully then got herself ready for class.

From Caleb's seat, he was casually watching Sarah's and Parker's interactions with each other and couldn't help but smile. His attention was drawn away when Pogue finally came up the steps and took the seat beside him – Just in time too, the last few stragglers were getting to their seats.

"Cutting it close," Caleb pointed out since it was out of character for him. "You okay?"

"I talked to Tina before class. I don't think she's the one, man." Pogue's voice was quiet when he spoke when his eyes looked over to Tina, she glared at him before returning to her conversation with Rayna.

"I thought we agreed I'd be the one to talk with her." Caleb wanted to find out who was behind the excessive Use as much as Pogue did. Perhaps even more.

"You didn't see Parker last night. She was in tears freaking out. I had to do something. I had to at least question Tina." Pogue looked over at Parker who was sitting next to Sarah across the way and sighed heavily. "She never says more than five words when something is bothering her but last night she didn't stop talking until she broke down crying. I never want to see my sister like that again."

Caleb hated the idea of Parker going through all this crap – she didn't deserve it. "What makes you so sure it wasn't Tina?" He was still a bit skeptical that it wasn't her, especially since if it was true and Tina wasn't behind it then he had no idea who else to suspect.

"Tina brought up a good point." Pogue managed to squeeze in before the professor called for attention, "She may be a bitch but she loves Parker as much as the rest of us."

Caleb faced forward with the appearance of focusing on the lesson for that day but really his mind was going over everything. Either someone was lying and lying big time or there was something more sinister at play. He couldn't believe he was hoping that someone was lying because the alternative wasn't something he could even fathom.

* * *

Later that day, Tina and Rayna were in the Library. Tina was determined to find a book she knew was there since, as far as she knew, she was one of the few who actually checked it out. Many a time Tina intended to steal the thing, but that'd just draw some questions her way as to why that she didn't want to deal with.

"You know that book cover to cover, Tina," Rayna pointed out as she followed her through the Library. "Why do you need to read it again?"

"I remember the details I want to remember," Tina corrected as she stopped at a particular shelf for the desired book. "The stuff I didn't care about just faded away but there is something nagging me that I want to check out."

Rayna watched as Tina frantically started moving the books aside. "You think there's an answer in there about what's going on with Parker?"

"I'm saying that something is going on and that book might give me a hint as to where to look next." Tina was officially pissed because the book wasn't there, so she stormed off down the aisle with the intention of asking the Librarian where the hell it was.

Rayna was quick to follow and spoke with hushed tones, "We know something is going on – Someone is Using on Parker but no one is copping to it."

Tina stopped in her tracks and whipped around so quickly that Rayna almost walked right into her. Since there were people nearby, she grabbed Rayna's hand and pulled her down to the end of an aisle before speaking again. "That's just it, Rayna, _who_ is Using on her? I'm not, you're not. Neither are Tyler and Reid. Despite her Use at Nicky's, I cannot see Carrie doing it. And Caleb and Pogue would never. I've just ruled out everyone, Rayna. None of us would ever Use on Parker. Using on Parker would be like taking candy from a baby; Cruel and unusual."

Rayna hoped Tina wasn't saying what she thought she was saying. "Are you thinking that someone else is Using on her? Someone else with the Power?"

Tina crossed her arms and shrugged. "Can you think of another explanation?"

Rayna thought that was utterly and completely impossible and said as much. "The fifth family doesn't exist anymore. The Putnam bloodline died out, Tina."

Tina pointed at her in a 'what if' manner. "Or did it? That's why I want to reread the book – all the details that didn't apply to our families. I need to make sure I didn't miss anything because I feel like I'm missing _something_."

With that said, she walked down the aisle and turned to get to the Librarian's desk, only to stop because she found the book she was looking for. The book about the history of Witches in Ipswich was splayed out on a table in front of Sarah. Tina beelined straight for her instead and slapped her hands on the table to make her presence known.

"Jeeze, you scared me," Sarah said a bit breathlessly with her hand on her chest.

"Some light reading?" Tina asked, eyeing the book in front of her, wondering why Sarah would be interested in the book to begin with.

Sarah looked at Rayna who just joined them before looking back to Tina. "I was curious about your families. Did you know the whole Witchcraft thing actually started here in Ipswich?"

Before Rayna could answer, Tina said, "It's all poppycock. What you're reading there is basically a fairy tale that happens to involve our families. So if you don't mind…" She reached out to take it from the table, only to have Sarah snap it shut and pull it away.

"I do mind, actually. I'm not done reading it. Don't worry, I shouldn't be more than a day or two with it. You can check it out then." Sarah smiled a sweet smile at them as she held the book close, stood up, and left the Library.

Tina flexed her fists because she really wanted to punch something. "When I first met her, I was unimpressed. Now I don't like the bitch."

"Why? Because she wants to finish reading the book?" Rayna didn't understand that logic whatsoever.

"Yes," was all Tina had to say about that because something just felt off and she didn't like it one bit.

* * *

Parker was working on an assignment in her dorm room when suddenly there was a rapid pounding at the door. "Who is it?" She wasn't expecting anyone so she wasn't just going to open the door with a welcoming smile.

"Tina and Rayna. Let us in or we'll let ourselves in." Tina sounded very impatient.

Parker sighed and got up from her desk before moving to unlock the door. What they could possibly want, she had no idea but didn't doubt that they'd Use to get in so letting them in was pretty much the only option. When Parker opened the door to greet them, she barely managed to get out "Hi" before Tina burst right into her room with Rayna in tow.

"Where's your roommate?" Tina demanded to know as she started looking under Sarah's bed and whatnot.

"She's on a date with Caleb," Parker answered with melancholic tone before asking more levelly, "What's going on?"

"Tina is jealous of the new girl and thinks she's an evil spawn," Rayna answered as she sat on the edge of Parker's bed.

Tina returned the mattress to its rightful place before firmly stating, "I am not jealous of anyone. That bitch is setting off my spidey-senses and I want answers." She went into the bathroom and didn't find what she was looking for there either. "How the hell does she not have any loose hairs around?!"

Parker shook her head in confusion. "You think Sarah has the Power?" That was the only thing she could think of to explain why Tina was acting like this. "That's impossible, Tina."

"Well if I had a strand of her hair then I'd know for sure one way or another." Tina even looked over Sarah's pillows again to no avail.

Parker had enough of this and went over to take the pillow out of Tina's grasp and put it back. "That's enough. Stop it! I don't know what's going on but Sarah has nothing to do with it. She's my friend."

"No. She's some new girl who shows up and all this shit starts happening. Caleb and Carrie have been sent a Darkling, did you know that? Someone's Using so much that it wakes Pogue and the soon Ascending twins out of a dead sleep, and you're being messed with. She's the only freaking common denominator. And if Carrie was here she'd back me up on that!"

"Where is Carrie anyway?" Rayna asked curiously since they hadn't seen her since swim practice after school.

"She's on a date with Chase," Parker answered then got back to the matter at hand. "And it's not Sarah! Sarah told me about her family and she doesn't have a twin. And if she did have a twin and he died then she wouldn't have the Power anyway. That's how it works and you know it. So stop whatever the hell you're trying to pull here, Tina! For all I know you could be the one Using on me!"

Tina was **really** starting to hate being accused of that. At first it was annoying and now it was enraging. "I would **never** Use on you, Parker!" She was starting to wonder how the hell she became the villain of the group.

"Like you never have?!" Parker shouted back at her. "You used to Use on me all the time when we got our Power and don't even try to deny it!"

Tina scoffed incredulously before throwing her arm out to side, "Those were harmless little pranks and that was then. As soon as I realized how much they bothered you I stopped and _you_ _know_ **that**!"

"No harm has come to me, not really, so one could call this Use harmless little pranks, too. And what's to say you didn't choose to start them up again? I wouldn't be surprised if you decided to." Parker wasn't sure where all this was coming from. Maybe it was from all the times she kept things bottled up and finally she just couldn't press it down any further.

Tina got right up in Parker's face, locking right onto her eyes to ask, "Do you really think I would Use on you like that? _Torment_ you like that? That I would send freaking Darklings to our Covenant knowing how much they terrify me?! Do you really think that, Parker?!"

Parker answered in all seriousness when she said, "Like I said, I wouldn't be surprised if you did."

Rayna was rendered speechless because she's _never_ seen Parker act like this before. It was a whole other side that she honestly didn't even know existed. Rayna had no idea what to expect so she got between them thinking things had already gone too far. "Tina, we should go."

"Yeah, you're right," Tina said to Rayna before looking right at Parker, practically seething, "We're done here."

Parker suddenly felt horrible for everything that she said and went to the doorway to call out, "I didn't mean that! Tina, I'm sorry!", but it was too late. Parker could tell Tina didn't give a damn – Tina flipping her off was a big indicator of that.

Parker closed her door with a heavy sigh. She had no idea what came over her and that made her worry. Was someone Using on her then and she didn't even realize it? Not knowing who was behind it was almost as bad as it happening.

Just when Parker was about to return to her assignment, there was a soft rapping at the door. It was the kind of knock she knew to belong to only one person. "Come in, Pogue."

Pogue entered his sister's room and was about to ask her something but stopped when he saw the expression on her face. "What happened?" He was worried someone was messing with her again.

Parker set her pencil down with a sigh. "I – I yelled at Tina. I never yell at Tina. I never yell at anyone. I don't know what's going on with me." She crossed her arms on the desk and plopped her head right onto them with a whining groan.

Pogue gave his sister's shoulder a comforting squeeze, feeling like she was being too hard on herself. "You've been so quiet for so long I think you're due a blow up or two." The behavior described didn't surprise him. He always thought whenever Parker held stuff in it was like she was a soda bottle being shaken up, ready to explode at the first sign of being opened.

Parker felt better after hearing him say that even though she still felt horrible for doing it. "Thanks." She had to admit Pogue had a point, she wasn't one to talk about her emotions much, but still, she didn't like blowing up on people.

Pogue quickly kissed the top of her head. "Any time." He sat on the edge of her desk and crossed his arm, easing his way into his question. "So…you been spending time with Chase lately?"

Parker eyed her brother a bit because this was a kind of odd line of questioning for him. "Not really. Not since we went to the movies. He likes Carrie – they've started dating or something." Then it made sense why he was asking. Parker figured it was a roundabout way of asking if Chase and Carrie had been spending a lot of time together.

Pogue's face hardened a bit when she told him that bit of unknown and disliked information. "Is that so." He cleared his throat before getting to his feet. "Do me a favor and stay away from him. I don't trust the guy."

Parker was too exhausted to have another argument and honestly didn't want to have one, especially with Pogue. Besides, his request wasn't a big deal and she trusted her brother's judgement. "I'm hardly around him as it is so I don't think it'll be a problem." She smiled when Pogue kissed the top of her head again and headed for her door. Before he left, she added in, "If you plan on telling Carrie to stay away from Chase, you should probably make it clear it's coming from a place of love and not because you just don't like the guy."

Pogue smiled and chuckled at that because she was quite perceptive about things regarding other people, but herself…not so much. "Goodnight, sis. Sleep well."

"I'll try." Parker returned to her assignment with yet another sigh. She couldn't help but think how things could be different if people just opened up their mouths about how they felt towards one another. Parker knew she was pretty pulling a 'do as I say and not as I do', but still, she wished someone would have the courage to just say it. Parker understood why they didn't though. It was complicated for one thing and another…the fear of them not returning the feeling was enough to make them not risk it. That was something Parker could definitely understand.

* * *

End Part 4


	5. Parker

The rain poured down as Carrie and Chase darted up the steps of Spencer Academy's Dorms and under the archway to get out of the rain. "I told you we should have driven," Carrie laughed as she started ringing out her hair.

"I thought a nice walk around campus after dinner would have been more romantic," Chase laughed in reply before moving some wet strands of Carrie's hair out of her face.

"I didn't say it wasn't romantic, but it would have been less wet." Carrie waved her hand out towards the pouring rain to make her point. It didn't really bother her, but she enjoyed playful teasing as much as the rest of them.

Chase smirked a bit when she said that. "A guy less mature than myself would make a comment about that."

It didn't take Carrie long to figure out what he was referring to. "Well luckily for both of us you are not that immature." She sat down on the wall beneath the exterior roofed area and smiled.

Chase moved to sit beside her. "I'm definitely lucky. Not many guys have had the pleasure of taking you out."

Carrie raised her brow at this with an 'oh really' smirk upon her face. "And how would you know this? Have you been asking around about me?" It was true. Carrie really didn't date much because of what she felt for Pogue. It wasn't until Chase that she didn't get a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach at the idea of dating someone who wasn't Pogue.

Caleb jokingly winced in reply. "Busted."

Carrie nudged his shoulder with hers. "I actually think it's kind of sweet. And honestly a bit refreshing. It's been a long time since I've had a conversation with someone who didn't already know everything about me."

"So you're really close with the rest of the twins? What did you call yourselves the Children of Ipswich or something?" Chase laughed towards the end there when he spoke their designated name.

Carrie felt like Chase was not-so-nicely teasing her and the rest of them a little bit so she lightly swatted him for it. "Hey, I didn't pick the name. And, yes, we've all grown up together. Our families are very close so it passed down onto us, I guess."

Chase turned on the wall and bent his knee so his leg was resting on the wall as well while the other hung over. "Hypothetical question – if you weren't one of the Ipswich Twins, would any of them be your friends?" He held up his hands in an unassuming manner. "I'm not trying to be a jerk. It just doesn't seem like Tina, Reid, and the others are really the kind of people you'd hang out with."

Carrie thought this question was a bit on the weird side, but answered it anyway. "Even if we didn't pretty much grow up together, I would like to think we'd still become friends somehow. I can't imagine it being any other way. Yeah, I know that Tina can be a bitch and Reid is the _perfect _match for her but there's more to them than that. Like Reid is a sweetie deep down, but he really only shows it to Parker. And Tina, oh man, you're lucky if you have her in your corner." She shrugged a bit because there really wasn't much else to say. "We've all got our faults. I mean, who doesn't? But that doesn't mean I'm going to wish I've never met them because of it."

"Fair enough," Chase smiled then took that moment to change subjects. "You doing anything on Saturday? I hear there's a Fall Fest or something going on."

Carrie hoped he was getting at what she thought he was getting at. "I haven't put much thought into it. I mean, us 'Ipswich Twins' usually end up going to stuff like that as a group." There was more to it than that, though. "And it's my birthday, well mine and Caleb's, so I'm not sure what the plan is."

"Your birthday is Saturday?" Chase smiled when Carrie nodded in confirmation. "I'm gonna have to plan something special for you then."

The last thing Carrie wanted was for anyone to make a big deal about it. It was already a big deal because she and Caleb were Ascending, but she couldn't tell him that. "Oh, no, please don't. I'm not big on birthdays."

"Too late. I already know exactly what I'm going to do." Before Carrie could say anything else, he leaned forward and kissed her softly on the lips. "See you soon." He winked before leaving the wall and heading into the Dorms.

Carrie hardly had time to process what had just happened because she heard a car pull up and saw that it was Caleb, right on time. After all, this was the agreed location to be picked up since they carpooled.

It took Carrie a moment to react to her brother's arrival because she lightly touched her lips with a smile. It wasn't until he rolled down the window and called out to her that she braved the weather once again and ran to his car.

Once she was inside and door closed, Caleb laughed at her. "Good date in the rain?"

Carrie smiled wide, "Excellent. You?"

"Same." Caleb put the car into gear and didn't look at his sister as he smiled, "Except we were smart enough not to get caught in the rain." He laughed when Carrie pushed his head for that then drove for home.

* * *

The Darkling appeared again for Carrie that night and she was still thinking about it even after swim practice the following day. She thought sitting back and hanging around to watch the guys practice would distract but her mind kept going back there.

"Yoo-hoo," Tina whistled as she snapped her fingers in front of Carrie's face before waving her hand in front of it. "Earth to Carrie, do you read me?" She went as far as to knock on Carrie's head to ask, "Anyone in there?"

Carrie pushed Tina's hand away with a bit of an eyeroll. She looked around to make sure no one could hear before saying, "I saw the Darkling again."

"I still think it's that Sarah bitch." Tina wasn't going to let that go.

"Don't say that around Parker," Rayna chimed in as she looked over to where Parker stood as she cheered on Pogue in the water. "Sarah's her friend."

"It can't be Sarah," Carrie reasoned, "she doesn't have a twin." That's the way things worked with the Children of Ipswich; If a Daughter died then the Son would get full Power but if a Son died before the Daughter then the Power died with them.

Tina was really getting sick of that getting pointed out to her. "Maybe she absorbed him in the womb or something and that's a loophole. I don't know but I still think it's her." Tina started holding out fingers one by one as she made her points. "She has direct and frequent access to Parker. All this excess Use didn't start until after she showed up. And I don't trust the bitch – didn't trust her the moment I met her."

Carrie held out her fingers one by one and countered Tina's points. "Everyone in school has frequent and direct access to Parker in one way or another, Sarah isn't the only new arrival this year, and you never trust anyone after your first meeting. Oh and did I happen to mention that she doesn't have a twin?"

Tina scoffed and slouched back against the wall. "Pointless. It's absolutely pointless trying to talk to either one of you. Maybe you and Parker should be dating, you two deserve each other."

Rayna took the opening to change subjects. "Carrie, look, Chase is swimming against Caleb."

Carrie's attention was pulled straight to the pool and she stood up when the whistle was blown to start the race between them. "That's Caleb's swim." She didn't like the idea of anyone else trying to swoop in and take it, even if it was the guy she was crushing on.

"Chase doesn't seem to care," Rayna pointed out before whistling and cheering for Caleb.

Carrie took a step forward to get a better look because it seemed like the guys were neck and neck. "Come on, brother," she said to herself and when they pushed off from the wall below where she stood with Rayna and Tina, Carrie was practically jumping out of her skin in anticipation. That anticipation soon turned to horror when she saw Caleb hit his head against the wall and fall under the water.

"Caleb!" Carrie cried out and ignored the 'no running' signs hung up on every wall and ran like hell with the other girls to get to the other side where Chase was pulling Caleb out of the water with him.

Once Caleb was out of the pool Carrie dropped to her knees to check if he was bleeding or anything. "Caleb if you won't wake up right now I swear by the deity of your choosing I'll drown you myself!"

Soon after that vow, Caleb returned to consciousness with a groan, making Carrie lean back with a heavy breath of relief. "Don't you ever scare me like that again." If anything ever happened to Caleb she'd lose her damn mind.

"Lucky Chase was there to get you out before you sucked up the whole pool," Tyler laughed, a lame attempt to make light of the situation.

Tina eyed Chase a bit after Tyler said that. "Yeah, lucky." She crossed her arms while the guys and a very worried Parker helped Caleb to his feet. Maybe Parker and Carrie were right, maybe it wasn't Sarah she should be setting her sights on but the other newest transfer to Spencer. And it sure as hell isn't the one who the cops found dead.

* * *

It was Tina's train of thought that led her to pull aside Caleb and Pogue later that day after school. Once they were down a hall and far enough away from the crowd of students, she moved her pointed finger between them. "You both have made your accusations and now it's time for me to make mine. I think Chase is the one Using. I don't care what anyone says about the fifth bloodline existing being impossible. No other explanation makes sense – it has got to be him so I think we should check him out." She left out the whole part about originally suspecting Sarah, a deliberate exception at that. Tina knew Caleb was dating Sarah and wasn't going to give him any ammunition to not take her newest suspicions seriously.

Caleb happened to agree with her. In fact, he and Pogue already made plans about checking out Chase's records to get a better idea about him. "I agree with you, Tina."

Tina wasn't expecting either of them to actually agree with her because no one ever really did about…well anything. She thought she'd have a lot more convincing to do. "Seriously? That was easy."

"Caleb thinks Chase's eyes were black in the pool today," Pogue answered, still not sure about it himself – Despite the fact that he couldn't stand the guy especially since he was dating Carrie now.

Tina looked to Caleb as she said, "Makes sense. You're not the kind of swimmer to lose focus and crack your head on the wall." Her mind's gears started turning a bit. "And it made him look like the hero which no doubt earned him brownie points with Carrie."

Caleb agreed with all of this which was a main reason why they needed to take some sort of action and soon. "We're breaking into the Admissions Office tonight to find out more about him. You in?"

"You're asking me if I'm down for breaking and entering?" Tina crossed her arms and placed a hand over her heart. "I'm offended you even had to ask, Caleb. Of course I'm in." She walked past the boys, saying, "I swear, it's like you don't know me at all."

* * *

True to her word, Tina met up with Caleb and Pogue that night and it was raining yet again. She ignored the raindrops as they fell down upon her, actually finding comfort in it. Tina always found comfort in the rain where others tried to get out of it as quickly as possible.

When Caleb and Pogue sprinted towards her, she stood up, saying, "Took you long enough. I've been here for a half an hour already."

"Surprised you were able to break off from your posse for that long," Pogue commented because it was rare for Tina to be away from Tyler, Rayna, or Reid for longer than the duration of their separate classes.

"Despite what you think, I'm not always with them. I often like being alone, not that it's any of your business." Tina waved her hands towards them. "And what about you? Where's Carrie, Parker, and sweet-sweet Sarah?"

"They're at the movies," Caleb answered since he was the one who got the three of the tickets. "Some new Brad Pitt movie or something. None of them could say no to that." Since that conversation had run its course, Caleb hopped the fence with Pogue and Tina in tow and led the way through the rain to the Admissions Office.

The few locked doors they met along the way were no match for their Power so presently no obstacles were faced. Once the trio reached the Admissions Office, they went straight to the student files. It didn't take long to locate Chase's file which the three split up to look through.

Caleb read in a newspaper article that Chase's parents and his sister Charlotte died in a car accident and Pogue discovered thanks to a birth certificate that Chase's real name wasn't Chase Collins but Chase Goodwin Pope. _That_ revelation caught Tina's attention.

"Did you just say 'Pope'?" Tina snatched the birth certificate from Pogue's hands and shined the light on it. "I know that name. How the hell do I know that name?"

"When was his birthday?" Caleb wanted to know as he looked at the article of Chase's adoptive parents' deaths.

"July 14th 1988," Tina answered as she handed the birth certificate, wracking her brain as to why the name Pope sounded so familiar to her – why the name _Goodwin _Pope sounded so familiar.

That information sealed the deal as far as Caleb's suspicion was concerned. "That's the same day his adoptive parents and his sister died. They all died on his 18th birthday."

"That son of a bitch," Tina seethed and kicked a file cabinet, much to the chagrin of the guys who shushed her. "Don't shush me," she shot back at that. "That son of a bitch killed his sister!"

The loud thud of her kick drew the attention of the security guard making their rounds and moments later, the sound of keys jingling was heard at the Admissions Office's door.

The three of them kicked their Power into gear and levitated high above the floor – thankfully the Office had cathedral height ceilings. The security guard did their thing below; Shined a flashlight all around, closed the drawer that was left open, and didn't notice the three teenagers floating above them or the files that started to fall but were caught by Tina's Power to keep them floating before they got too far.

Since the security guard didn't find anything out of the ordinary going on, he left the room as he left it. Well, almost exactly as he left it. He did close the file cabinet's drawer after all.

Once it was safe, Tina, Caleb, and Pogue lowered themselves back to the ground and returned the file where they found it. Just as they were about to leave, Tina gasped, "Agnes Goodwin Pope!" She finally remembered why that name sounded so familiar.

Caleb whipped around to shush her again before asking in a quiet tone, "What did you just say?"

"It wasn't the history book I should have wanted to look in but the Book of Damnation." Tina looked between the guys. "Agnes Goodwin Pope, remember?"

Caleb needed a moment or two but finally he remembered the story. "Goody Pope."

After Tina snapped and pointed at Caleb in a 'you got it' manner, he said to Pogue, "Call Reid, Tyler, and the others. We're having a Covenant meeting **now**."

* * *

Parker had a lot of fun with Carrie and Sarah at the movies but she was glad to be back at the Dorms once they dropped Carrie off at home. As soon as Parker got into her room, she tossed her bag aside, plopped down on her bed and opened up a book.

Sarah laughed at this familiar turn of events. "Well it's nice to know you can act like a normal teenager every once and awhile." She grabbed her robe and shower caddy, saying, "I'm going to take a shower."

"I'll be here with my book," Parker answered without taking her eyes off the page. She intended to stay right there but her phone rang, and since said communication device was still located in her bag across the room she had to stand up to get it.

Parker set her book aside with a groan to see who was calling her, but she didn't even make it to her bag before Sarah came back into the room. "Forget something?"

"Yes, actually, I did." Sarah stalked towards Parker like a predator towards its prey. "It's time we've had a little chat."

By now the phone stopped ringing so Parker was focusing completely on the situation in front of her. As she backed away from Sarah, she asked in a worried tone, "What's going on?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Sarah asked as her eyes turned pitch black. "I'm going to finish what I started."

Parker couldn't believe this was happening. She couldn't believe Tina was right. How could this be possible? Sarah told her she was an only child…and Parker believed her. There was time enough for whatever was going through Parker's mind later, right now she needed to defend herself so that's exactly what she prepared herself to do.

Parker's eyes turned black as she prepared her Power for whatever Sarah might throw at her.

Sarah gave Parker a slow clap for this little display. "Very scary, Parker. I mean it. You're giving me the shivers." Sarcasm dripped off every word they spoke. "Let's see if your bark is worse than your bite."

Parker threw her hands forward Using the Power to send Sarah flying across the room before Sarah could do anything to her.

Sarah hit the picture frame on the wall between the two beds before dropping to the floor with the bits of shattered glass falling on top of her. She laughed as she returned to her feet. "That was unexpected. Let's see if I can even the playing field." With that said, Sarah's appearance smoked away to reveal their true identity; Chase.

Parker stepped back with a gasped, "Chase?!" She did not see that coming.

"In the flesh." Chase did a twirl to show himself off as he walked towards Parker before stopping as he spoke with his hands. "How did you like my little illusion?" He smirked, adding in, "It was so good, wasn't it."

"Everything about you is an illusion!" Parker shouted and was about to Use on him again but he beat her to the punch this time and sent her flying into the bathroom.

Parker hit the sink hard and cried out a bit in pain before pushing through it and Using back on him.

Chase levitated to dodge the little Power burst she shot out at him and landed with a laugh. "There is more fire in you than I thought. Pity it's time to douse it." He held his hands out to his sides as he conjured hundred of spiders, all of which were making their way towards Parker.

Parker got to her feet and darted out of the bathroom, Using her Power to disperse the spiders before going after Chase to no avail. He seemed to disappear in the blink of an eye only to appear behind her with a "Boo" before he Used his Power to throw her against the wall.

Parker hit the wall with a loud thud and landed on the floor with a strong gasp as the spiders swarmed all around her. No matter how much she Used to get rid of them more appeared to take their place. "Why are you doing this?!" she screamed as she continually tried to keep the spiders away.

"Because you're the easiest target," Chase answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And you mean the most to your dear brother and to Caleb. Of course, I could have easily enough gone after Carrie, but I have other plans for her." He returned his eyes to normal before he crouched down to her level. "It's a little poetic, isn't it? I mean, spiders? They've been a part of this since we first met."

Parker realized then that the spider Chase plucked off her the night he walked them back to the Dorms was nothing more than his conjuring. "Stop this!" She pleaded, Using even more to try and keep the spiders away.

"Not yet." He rose to his feet with a sigh. "It is a pity really. I truly did think you were adorable." Chase's eyes turned pitch black once again and Used his Power to accelerate the spiders until they completely engulfed a screaming Parker.

It didn't take long for the multitude of spiders to overpower Parker and soon her screams faded to nothing as her strength gave out and she collapsed upon the floor, her body riddled with spider bites.

Now that this was done, Chase removed all the spiders and set the room to rights before taking his leave. Things were most certainly going according to plan and he intended to keep it that way.

Sarah didn't return to the dorm room until a little while later after her shower, saying as she entered the room, "I was thinking I should set you up with someone. I don't think I've seen you date anyone since I've been here…" her voice trailed off when she didn't see Parker reading on the bed. Sarah's eyes went to the other end of the room where Parker laid on the floor, still unconscious.

"Parker?" Sarah gasped and rushed over to her. "Oh my god…" welts covered Parker's body and after checking for a pulse that was there, she scrambled for a phone to call 911. "I don't know what happened to her. Her skin is covered with welts or bites or something and she's on fire. Please hurry!" Once the 911 operator had all the information Sarah returned to Parker's side. "Don't worry, Parker. You're going to get taken care of."

* * *

End Part 5


	6. Process

Carrie stood outside Gorman's residence because she wasn't ready to go inside yet. It wasn't the Covenant meeting that Caleb ordered or the fact she hadn't heard from Parker yet – It was because of who else lived in that house. She hadn't been able to see him for the longest time because of what happened, because of what he did, and tonight was no different.

Presently, however, Carrie was leaving a voicemail for Parker because no one had gotten ahold of her yet. "Hey, Park, it's Carrie again. Leaving you another message to say get your butt over here, we're having a meeting. You know what that means. If you can't get here please call someone. We're starting to get worried about you." She ended the call and slipped her cell into her back pocket with a heavy sigh. Except for Parker she was the last one to go inside so there was no more time to put it off.

Carrie rubbed her face and shook out her hands to prepare herself and went into the house. As soon as she stepped over the threshold she saw Gorman standing near the staircase leading to the upper level. Carrie just nodded in greeting before opening the heavy wooden door leading to the winding stone staircase going down to the cellar.

All the candles were already lit as she descended the stairs. Each pillar's candle below was lit as well, lighting up the cellar and those present. Carrie slowed her pace a bit when all eyes turned to her. Clearly she had just interrupted something.

"Did you start the meeting without me?" Carrie asked as she took her place beside Caleb since during these meetings the twins stood together.

Pogue didn't answer her quite yet and asked a question of his own. "Any luck with Parker?" He was starting to worry because she hadn't answered his calls either and that wasn't like her.

"She's probably got her nose in a book. Parker always turns her phone off while she reads." Carrie looked around and saw that Tina and Reid looked more intense than usual. Even Tyler and Rayna looked on edge and that was never good. "Seriously, what is going on?"

Caleb took the lead on this since it involved his sister. He almost beat around the bush to get to the information but decided it would be better to just rip off the Band-Aid. "We found out something tonight, Carrie. Chase is a descendant of the fifth family."

Carrie needed a moment for what Caleb said to click then looked at her brother like he was insane. "No way. That's not possible." It was common knowledge that the Putnam bloodline died out a long time ago.

"Sure, defend your boyfriend even when there's proof," Tina shot back and if it wasn't for the round altar in the center of the room she would have stormed over there, too.

Caleb retook the lead and spoke directly to Carrie since the others had already been filled in on what they discovered. "When I raced Chase in the pool, his eyes were pitch black. After looking into his file we found he was adopted – his birth name is Chase Goodwin Pope. On his eighteenth birthday his adoptive parents died…along with his sister Charlotte."

Carrie felt like her whole world was spinning but pushed all that aside to clarify something because she needed to be sure that she heard right. "Chase is Ascended and he killed his sister?" When Caleb nodded, she needed to take a seat on one of the ornate wooden stools placed around the pillar. Something didn't make sense to her though. "But Pope isn't the name of the fifth family – Putnam is." She couldn't even begin to process the betrayal yet, she needed more information before that point could be reached.

"There's an explanation for that." Caleb Used his Power to summon the Book of Damnation from the bookshelf and place it upon the pillar. Once the Book was levitating in place, a circle of fire ignited while the pages flipped open to the place in the story which held the answers they were seeking.

Once they were all seated and the Book turned so it could be read, Caleb addressed the Covenant. "It's a list of names against all those who brought charges against John Putnam during the Salem hunt. Pope was one of them. Goody Pope, widow of Jacob mother to Hagen. She claimed that John Putnam came to her as an Incubus in her dreams after she was widowed." Pages of the Book flipped to a new place as Caleb continued to speak. "The Book also records births and deaths during the Damnation. Goody Pope's husband, Jacob, died June 4th, 1692. Her son Hagen was born April 11th, 1693. That's ten months and twenty-four days later." The Book of Damnation slammed shut and slammed down upon the altar.

Tina was the first to break the silence, speaking with such a fierceness to her tone. "I **told** you we weren't the ones messing with Parker. If you took one second to think about another possibility then we wouldn't have learned the truth about Chase sooner."

"We believed the Putnam bloodline died out in Salem," Carrie replied in a level tone because she was still trying to process the fact that the guy she was starting to develop feelings for was the one behind everything that'd happened. She felt such a flurry of emotions but mainly felt stupid and betrayed.

"Chase is one of us," Tyler could hardly believe it himself. For so long it was believed the Putnam bloodline had died out but for generations they've existed under the radar.

"Chase is **not** one of us," Tina shouted at her brother as she jolted to her feet. "He killed his sister on his eighteenth birthday! As soon as he Ascended he gave into the seduction and killed her! That does **not** make him one of us. Not by a long shot."

Before anything else could be said, Caleb's cellphone rang. Seeing it was Sarah he answered but tried to keep it quick. "Hey, can I call you back…" His sentence was cut short when Sarah cried,

"Parker's been attacked. The EMT's think it's spiders. She's covered with bites, Caleb. Something weird is happening and I'm scared." She proceeded to tell him that they were taking Parker to the hospital in Gloucester.

Caleb froze the second he heard that something had happened to Parker. Despite freezing in place he felt as if someone had just hit him in the chest with a sledge hammer. It took him a moment to say to Sarah, "Go back to your dorm and stay there. I'll see you soon, okay?" As soon as he heard Sarah agree, Caleb ended the call.

Caleb closed his eyes and took a deep breath to prepare himself for what he had to tell them. "He's put a spell on Parker."

In the lieu of everything asking 'what?' in their various forms, Pogue cut in with, "What are you talking about? What kind of spell?"

"Creation," Caleb answered regretfully then clarified. "Spiders."

Pogue dragged his hands down his face. "Parker had a nightmare about spiders." He had enough time to blame himself for not being there for his sister later, right now he needed more information so he could be there for her. "Where is she? Where is my sister?"

"They're taking her to a hospital in Gloucester." Caleb stood up when Pogue did and tried to keep him calm. "Don't do anything until we know more."

"Don't do anything?!" Pogue shouted back at him. "This is Parker we're talking about!" He was about to run up the stairs but didn't get very far because of what Carrie said.

"I'm coming with you." Carrie wanted to be there for Parker and for Pogue – she needed to be.

Pogue whipped around and made his next words abundantly clear. "You're not going anywhere near my sister. You're supposed to be her friend – her Daughter in arms and instead of looking out for her you're screwing the guy who's trying to kill her!" That was low and undeserved but he was scared and worried and lashed out because of it.

Carrie did something in that moment that she'd never done before in her entire life, she slapped Pogue right across the face. "Screw you!" Not that it mattered, but she'd never slept with Chase and even if she did, it wouldn't change the fact that she wanted to tear him apart for everything he's done.

Pogue looked right at Carrie after recovering from the surprisingly hard slap but he didn't say a word. Instead he turned around and ran up the stairs to get to Parker as soon as he could.

Carrie looked at the others and Caleb as she said, "I have to go." She had to admit that Pogue was right about one thing – If she'd kept a better eye out or had done more to try and protect Parker from being messed with then perhaps things could have turned out differently.

Caleb didn't like this idea one bit. "It could be a trap, Carrie. You and Pogue could be heading right into a trap." He tried to talk some sense into her, but failed.

"If it is a trap then I'm not letting him go into it alone." Carrie ran up the steps before anyone could stop her from going.

At the top of the cellar's staircase, Gorman was standing there waiting for her. He was one of the last people she wanted to deal with because she knew what he was going to ask of her. "Not now, Gorman."

"He wants to see you." Gorman knew why Carrie didn't want to go upstairs, but he had to at least deliver the message.

Carrie snapped, "I'll go see him the day I get to see my aunt." That was relatively low and she knew it but said it anyway and didn't regret it.

Gorman stopped Carrie before she left the house, his arm blocking her path through the doorway. "He loves you. You and your brother."

"Could have fooled me," Carrie snapped before she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I know he does. In his own way, I know," was all she had left to say before going under Gorman's arm to get to her motorcycle. She didn't even bother putting on her helmet, only putting her protective glasses on before starting it up and speeding off.

Carrie pushed the bike to its limits, breaking many a law on the way. She sped down the road, moving with every twist and turn that it provided but Pogue wasn't anywhere in sight…until he was.

The motorcycle screeched to a halt when Carrie saw Pogue's yellow Ducati in the middle of the road with lifeless looking Pogue not too far away. Carrie felt her heart breaking in that moment and parked the bike before taking off on foot.

Carrie went straight to Pogue and moved his hair out of his face to get a better look at him. He certainly looked as if he'd been put through the wringer more than once. "Pogue? Pogue, can you hear me?" She tried to keep her voice together so he would understand her words if he could hear her.

"Ca-Carrie…," he whispered with a groan before passing out.

"I'm here, Pogue. I'm here." Carrie closed her eyes tightly as she rested her forehead against his while tears streamed down her face. This wasn't the moment to cry. No, she needed to be stronger than this. Carrie softly kissed Pogue's forehead then forced herself to breathe at a more normal rate before taking out her cellphone to report the 'accident'. With that done and help on the way, Carrie called her brother to tell him Chase had struck again and he had gone after another person they loved.

One thing was more than certain now; Any feelings Carrie may have felt for Chase were shattered and all that was there now was rage. Carrie had never felt anything like it before in her life but she was going to use it to make Chase pay if it was the last thing she ever did. She may have vowed that no Sons were going to kill any Daughters, but not once did say that no Daughters were going to kill a Son.

* * *

Carrie followed the ambulance the whole way to Gloucester Hospital and went up to see Parker while the doctors tended to Pogue. Seeing Parker hooked up to those wires and tubes and such broke Carrie's heart. According to one of the nurses they gave Parker something to help her rest so Carrie didn't think she'd know anyone was there but stayed anyway.

Carrie pulled up a chair next to Parker's bed and took her hand. She closed both her hands around Parker's and Used her Power to give nothing but good dreams to her. It wasn't much and Carrie knew this, but until Chase either reversed the spell or died then there wasn't anything else she could do.

"We know Chase is the one who did this to you. I vow with everything I have that he will pay. He will pay for what he did to you and to Pogue." Carrie stood up and kissed the top of Parker's head. "Sweet dreams, Park."

Carrie sniffled back some tears and left the room, moments later being told that Pogue was in a room down the hall if she wanted to see him now. Without even waiting for the nurse to finish telling her that, Carrie was already making her way there.

Pogue, much like Parker, was hooked up to monitors and tubes for oxygen. Bandages covered where Carrie could see and the rage towards Chase grew. She wasn't sure if Pogue would even want her there, but that didn't stop her from approaching.

Pogue heard someone walking towards him and opened his eyes to see Carrie there. He had to give her a warning. If anything happened to her, too, he wouldn't be able to handle it. "Stay away from him," he whispered slowly yet urgently to her. "He's too powerful. He's stronger than you can imagine."

Carrie moved some of Pogue's hair out of his face and gently placed her hand on the side of it. "He may be stronger, but I'm angrier." She gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about anything. Chase is going to pay." Carrie removed her hand and was about to walk away but Pogue grabbed hold before she could.

Pogue's voice was louder as he spoke to her now. "Don't go after him, Carrie. If anything happened to you…" He swallowed a lump in his throat with a painful groan. "I'm sorry for what I said before…"

Carrie gave his hand a gentle squeeze as her heart did a bit of a flutter at his words. "For what he did to Parker – for what he did to _you_ is **exactly** why I have to go after him. It's why I have to make him pay. Messing with me is one thing, but no one goes after the people I love and gets away with it."

Finally giving into a feeling she'd felt for the longest time but never acted upon, Carrie leaned down and kissed Pogue's lips. Her heart did a flutter again when he kissed her in return. She reluctantly pulled away and whispered, "Focus on getting better, Pogue. Don't worry about me," before leaving his hospital room before he had a chance to stop her.

Carrie didn't stop walking until she rounded a corner out of sight. She placed her hand on her heart and closed her eyes tightly to compose herself. There would be time to feel and think about what had just happened later. Right now there was something more pressing to be dealt with.

Borrowing an expression from Tina, Carrie put on her 'murder face' as she pulled out her cellphone and stormed down the hallway. After hitting Caleb's number, she waited for him to answer and once he did, she didn't even give him a chance to speak. "We need a plan, Caleb. And I mean now."

Caleb agreed with her one hundred percent but there was something he had to do first – he had to tell her everything about his run-in with Chase at the Dorms. "I know, Carrie, but first…we need to talk."

* * *

The Danvers twins met up at Gorman's place to go over what had happened between Caleb and Chase. Neither of them went into the house but stayed near the fence, the pair of them sitting on the hood of Caleb's car as they spoke.

Caleb told her everything about what happened – how Chase spelled Sarah during the exchange, told him that it wasn't until his adoptive parents' and sister's deaths that he found his birth-father and learned everything about the Power and the side effects of it, was given his father's Power, and how he wanted Caleb to meet him at the Putnam Barn when he Ascends to give him his Power.

Carrie cut him off before he finished his sentence. "Chase wants your Power? That's what all this is about? What, his share from killing his sister wasn't enough for him?"

"I was getting to that." Caleb sighed heavily before continuing. "Chase thinks if he has my Power that you will remain the anchor to that Power – that he can Use however much he wants and will no longer be affected."

Carrie slammed her hand on the hood of Caleb's car. "Even if that is a possibility I would rather die than live as his Power anchor." It made sense to her now as to why Chase put in the effort to get close to her. Perhaps his twisted mind thought she'd be more inclined to side with him if he was, but it'd be a cold day in hell before that ever happened. Carrie was true to her word when she said she would rather die than be tethered to Chase.

"I said as much." That was true, Caleb did tell Chase that Carrie would rather die, but Chase had a retort to that. "He said if you refused then he would just go down the Covenant line until one of the Daughters agreed."

"Well it's not happening. He's not getting your Power. If he gets your Power then you die and you are not dying." Carrie used both her hands to rub her face before running them through her hair. "What's the plan, brother?" They couldn't go into this showdown with Chase without one.

"Right now, let's just breathe. Reid, Tina, and the others are keeping watch over Pogue and Parker right now and there's something else I need to take care of." Almost as if on cue, Sarah's car pulled up behind Caleb's, but she didn't get out of the car yet.

Carrie did not get what was happening. She hopped off the car and pointed towards Sarah's, asking, "What is she doing here? Caleb, what did you do?" With everything else going on she couldn't believe Caleb was about to bring an outsider into all of this.

"She figured it out. Sarah found the history book Tina reads all the time in the library and put the pieces together." Caleb couldn't keep Sarah in the dark about it any longer. He felt it'd be better if he didn't try lying to her about it.

"So you bring her **here**?" Carrie shook her head with a heavy scoff. "Of all the people you could have brought here to meet him, you bring her?" She couldn't believe Caleb was doing this and out of nowhere she asked him, "Does Parker mean nothing to you?"

Caleb wasn't expecting that question to be shot out at him. "What are you talking about?"

This line of questioning wasn't where Carrie intended to go but she was running with it. "You heard me," she practically spat back. "You've been in love with Parker for…like ever!, but you've been more concerned of it looking like you were taking advantage of her or something because she's the most timid of us. So, what? Does that not even matter now because you've got a shiny new girlfriend?"

Caleb was conflicted about what he felt, this was true, but he didn't think he deserved this. In fact, he turned the tables on her. "And what about you and Pogue, huh? I'm not blind, I see the way you feel about him but you've never said a word, either. That's a bit pot calling the kettle black now, isn't it?"

Carrie threw her hands out to her sides because she didn't even want to deal with this conversation anymore. "Do whatever you want. I don't care, Caleb. I've got more important things to worry about like keeping you alive, for example." Without another word, she got onto her motorcycle and started it up. She put on her helmet and had one last thing to say, "I hope you know what you're doing, brother."

"I do," Caleb answered, hoping it was enough for her. He didn't get a response either way because Carrie lowered the visor of her helmet and sped off into the night leaving him to do as he wished in her wake.

* * *

End Part 6


	7. Promises

It was almost dawn by the time Carrie got home. She didn't have much concern going in alone because it was so early there was no doubt her mother would still be in bed. Much to her surprise she found her mother sitting in the parlor. What was even more surprising was that her mother didn't have a drink in hand, in fact she was dressed and appeared to be sober. "Hi, Mom. You're up early…or haven't you gone to bed yet?"

"I haven't been to bed," Evelyn admitted as she stood up and approached her daughter with mild caution because she wasn't sure if Carrie was still upset with her or not. "You and Caleb never came home. I was worried."

Carrie sighed heavily and moved to one of the chairs in front of the fireplace and sat down. "It's been a long night. Parker and Pogue are in the hospital." With everything that had been going on she didn't even think to call her mother.

Evelyn moved to the seat near Carrie's and sat down. "That's terrible. What happened?" She tried not to go into instant panic and waited to hear what Carrie had to say.

"They were attacked by the fifth." Carrie leaned forward and put her hands over her face as she tears she'd been holding back just started flowing right along with the unfolding of current events. "Everything is so messed up, Mom. The Putnam bloodline is alive and they went after Parker and Pogue. Parker is under a spell he cast and he injured Pogue badly. He – Chase – killed his sister when he Ascended and now he wants Caleb's Power. He thinks if the Power lives then the side effects of Using won't apply to him because I'm still alive. I don't know what to do. Chase not only has his sister's Power but his father's and I don't know if we can beat him. Even if Caleb and I join our Power as one he'll still be stronger than us and I'm scared, Mom. I'm so scared."

Evelyn got up from her seat and hugged Carrie tight as she smoothed down her hair before crouching down in front of her, much like she did when Carrie was afraid as a child. "I tell you what we're going to do. We are going to go to the others and ask for their help."

Carrie sniffled as she shook her head. "We can't do that. Chase will kill them all. He's already threatened to do just that if Caleb doesn't do what he wants."

Evelyn took Carrie's hands and squeezed them. "Then we'll go to your father." She saw the instant 'no way' look on Carrie's face and answered it before her daughter said a word. "I know, but listen to me. If your father gives you his Power and you join with Caleb then you will be strong enough to protect yourselves and the rest of the Children."

Carrie couldn't believe her mother was suggesting that, knowing if Power was given away then so was their life. She couldn't even imagine her father agreeing to it anyway. "Even if father would do that, who knows what would happen with the seduction…"

Evelyn cut her daughter off to ease her mind. "Listen to me, Carrie. You have nothing to worry about where the seduction is concerned. My fear of losing you both wouldn't let me see it, but I know – I know that the dynamic, the bond between the two of you is stronger than your father's was with Wendy. I _know_ Caleb would never do anything to harm you no matter what the seduction tries to do." She reached out and wiped the tears from her daughter's cheeks. "You are going to do the opposite of what I wanted you to do, my sweet girl. You are not going to run away – You are going to stay and fight along side your brother. Even before you were given your Power you were always stronger together than apart."

Carrie knew her mother was right. No matter what Caleb could say to keep her out of things to keep her safe, she wasn't going to let him go through this alone. They were one set of the Children of Ipswich and they never left their twin behind. Her mother's wise words were just as surprising as everything else so it made her ask, "How are you not freaking out more right now?"

Evelyn hugged her daughter again as she answered, "Because one way or another you and Caleb are going to survive this. I promise you."

Carrie wasn't sure how her mother was going to keep that promise, but in that moment it didn't matter because Carrie believed her.

* * *

Carrie waited for Caleb on the front steps for him to come home. What she was going to say to him exactly, she wasn't sure, but that didn't change her endgame – She was going to fight beside him against Chase and that was that.

Carrie took a long drink from the mug of hot coffee in her hand then set it on the step beside her when Caleb's car pulled up the driveway. She left the stoop and met him halfway as he walked towards her. "I have something to say and you're going to listen."

Caleb was pretty much going to say the same thing to her but let her go first. "What is it?"

"Before anything else, happy birthday." After all, it was officially Saturday, had been for a number of hours now. "Now onto the important matter. When you meet with Chase tonight, I am going to be there." She knew Caleb was about to retort, so she held up her hand to keep him quiet. "I am going to be there, Caleb. We are stronger together than we are apart. If we fight him together, especially after we Ascend, then we have a chance to put him down for good. You're not an only child. You've got a sister who will lead when you need to follow, follow when you need to lead, and stand at your side to kick some ass. Let me do that. Let me help you."

Caleb understood all of that, he knew all that, but it didn't change the fact that if Carrie was there he wouldn't be able to keep his head on straight. Caleb would be more worried about keeping her safe than anything else and he couldn't afford that, not when the stakes were so high. "I can't, Carrie. You can't come with me. If you're there I'll be distracted. I – I can't have you there. Please trust me on this."

Carrie clenched her hands out in front of her as she practically growled because he was so frustrating. "I can't stand by and do nothing. Dammit, Caleb! You're not alone in this! We are the goddamn Children of Ipswich; we fight together. It shouldn't even be just us fighting against him. In case you've forgotten, there are other Children in our Covenant."

"In case you've forgotten, Chase has already put two of them in the hospital!" Caleb slid his hand down his face in frustration. "I will not let any more of us be put in harm's way. I'm going to meet Chase tonight **alone**. You are going with Reid and the others to the dance to keep each other and Sarah safe. When I've dealt with Chase I will meet you there." When Carrie was about to speak again he said, "I'm calling in my present."

Carrie couldn't believe he just pulled that. "Oh no you are **not**." When they were kids they promised each other that on their birthday the only thing they wanted was one thing – whatever was asked for had to be done and the other couldn't ask for something to cancel the first thing out. It was usually small stuff like they had to clean the other's room or watch a movie the other never wanted to watch, so Carrie couldn't believe he used that for this.

"I am," Caleb countered, knowing she wouldn't be able to back out of that. "All I want for my birthday is for you not to follow when I deal with Chase."

Carrie turned around with a scoff and started to walk away but stopped when she felt like she was going to cry again. She needed a moment to muster up the strength to turn around and look at him while crying, "Then all I want for my birthday if for you to come back alive."

Caleb went over to his sister and hugged her. He tried to make light of the situation by saying, "Well now that you've asked for it I don't really have any other choice in the matter."

Carrie laughed at that, she couldn't help it. After sniffling back some tears she pulled from their embrace to ask, "What are we going to do now?"

Caleb walked back to the house with Carrie as he answered, "Rest up for tonight. We're going to need it."

* * *

Tina stood with Reid, Tyler, Rayna, and Carrie in the Danvers's parlor that evening while Sarah was upstairs getting ready for the dance and Caleb was in the foyer or somewhere speaking with his mother. After hearing what the plan was, Tina was none too happy.

"I can't believe we're to just stand by and babysit." Tina looked right at Carrie, demanding to know, "Are you seriously okay with this?"

"Of course I'm not okay with this," Carrie instantly answered. She'd have it any other way if she could. "But there's nothing I can do about it. I made a promise to Caleb and I never go back on my promises to him."

Rayna leaned against one of the armchairs, saying, "I still can't believe Caleb told Sarah everything. I mean, I knew they were daring but I didn't think they were that close." Hell she still thought Caleb and Parker were going to get together in the end, but it didn't seem like it was going to happen now.

"Caleb said she figured it out after reading that book you're hooked on." Tyler looked at his twin as he spoke since Tina was the one who read it the most often. It wasn't that he was accusing her or anything, he was just repeating the information given.

"And I made it clear it was historical fiction," Tina firmly countered. "Her putting it all together and getting Caleb to confirm everything _and_ get introduced to Papa Danvers is too neat and tidy for my taste." Just as they had been before, Tina's 'spidey-senses' were still on red alert but didn't have the evidence to support it.

Reid knew that Tina was one for conspiracies but for the sake of argument and curiosity, he asked her, "What makes you say that?" He was willing to hear her out, if for nothing else that perhaps she'd finally let it go if she was able to discuss it.

"She's probably still on the mind-set that Sarah has the Power." Carrie was really getting annoyed with that because ever since their discovery in the records room, it deemed that impossible.

Tina rolled her eyes dramatically. "Clearly I was wrong about that since the article clearly stated Chase's sister died in the crash, but that still doesn't mean I trust her. I mean, come on, how long was it before our Power-parent told their significant other about the Covenant?"

"Years," Tyler answered before anyone else did. "At least with our parents." It was a foreign idea for Tyler personally to be with anyone outside the Covenant. He couldn't imagine being with anyone who didn't understand firsthand what it was like to have the Power.

"Exactly. It takes years to find out if one is to be trusted enough to know, but Caleb tells her so quickly? Something doesn't add up." Tina just wished she knew what exactly it was. Well that wasn't quite true, she knew what was still bothering her but all the evidence was against it. Even so, she just couldn't let it go.

Carrie had so much else to deal with, she didn't need to deal with Tina's thought processes, too. "You can calculate all you want tomorrow. Tonight we need to respect Caleb's wishes and keep Sarah safe in case Chase decides to make a move at the dance before going to the Barn. Can we do that?" She looked around at the group and accepted their varying nods in reply.

"Good," was the last thing Carrie had to say to them before going out into the foyer to speak to her while she had the chance since they would be leaving shortly.

Evelyn smiled lightly as Carrie joined them. She was finished speaking with her son but had one final thing to say before they left. "Stay safe, Caleb. I love you." Evelyn kissed Caleb's cheek and joined the others in the parlor.

Carrie stepped up to adjust Caleb's tie since he never seemed to do them right. "You better not renege on your present, frustrating brother of mine. You better come back alive."

When Carrie was done with his tie, he took her hands and squeezed them reassuringly. "I take your presents seriously, worrier sister of mine. I promise you I am going to come back alive."

* * *

As the Children walked with Sarah onto Spencer's grounds, Tina looked around in case there was any sign of Chase. She doubted he would make an appearance in a crowd since that hadn't been his style so far, but she wasn't about to put anything past him.

Since Carrie and Sarah were walking ahead and likely out of earshot, Tina went into her broken record mode again. "I don't like this."

"You're not the only one who doesn't like it, but Caleb has it covered." Reid really wanted to believe that Caleb had it covered but even he was starting to worry. They all gave their word not to go and help him so they were pretty much stuck in doing what Caleb asked of them.

Tina stopped in her tracks and turned to address Reid, Tyler, and Rayna. "How the hell does Caleb have this covered? Even when he Ascends he's gonna be going up against a guy who's at full Power _plus_ his father's Power. Caleb is no match for him and we all know this." It would be different if Caleb and Chase were evenly matched, but they were far from it so she honestly didn't believe Caleb would survive.

Before anything else could be said, Reid's cellphone rang. "Speak of the Warlock," he voiced since it was Caleb who was calling him. Before answering he whistled to get Carrie's and Sarah's attention then cocked his head for them to follow them over to the wall so they'd be out of the way of the rest of the party-goers.

"Hey, man. There's no sign of Chase here." Reid figured that would be Caleb's first question.

"How's Carrie doing? And Sarah? Can I talk to them."

"Sure, hold on." Reid turned to where they were just standing but were no longer there. "What the hell?"

"Reid? What happened?"

Rayna stepped forward to where they just were and couldn't believe it. "They were just here! How could they…"

"They're not here, Caleb. I don't know what happened." The second Reid told Caleb that, he heard commotion coming from that end of the line. "Caleb? You there?" He looked at his phone to find the line went dead.

Tina clenched her fists then pointed at each of them, finally feeling like she had all the evidence she needed now. "I told you. I _fucking_ told you!"

"What are you talking about?" Tyler was so far off from her thought train that it wasn't even funny.

Rayna picked up on this quickly. "Tina's right...It's Sarah. She – she's a part of this, too." It made complete sense to her now. "Think about it, guys. Tina was right, Sarah _is_ a part of this. We've all been on high alert for Chase, we would have been ready for him. But Sarah? We wouldn't be expecting her. Not after that article."

Tyler was thinking he was getting what they were saying now. "Hold on. We're back to the Sarah has Power thing? That would mean she's Chase's twin and we've found nothing to support that."

Reid had to side with Tyler on this despite knowing that Tina would likely make him pay for it later. "The article said his sister died –" he looked directly at Tina, " – you told us that."

"The article said his _sister_ died, not his _twin_." Tina didn't make that connection until that moment because the thought of a Daughter dying at the hands of a Sons enraged her. "Who's to say Chase and his twin weren't separated when they were adopted? What if a couple who already had a daughter only wanted a son which lead to his twin getting adopted by another family? Sarah's eighteen, she told Parker that much. Sarah transferred in the same time as Chase and I bet if we went to the records room right now we'd find out she's adopted, too, and her birth name is Goodwin Pope."

Reid still wasn't sure if he was on board with all of this. "That's a stretch, Tina. Chase could have just whisked the two of them away. He's Powerful enough."

"Are you willing to take that risk?" Rayna looked between the three of them. "If Sarah is Chase's twin and she has the Power then that changes everything. That means Caleb isn't the only target, but so is Carrie. Now I don't know about the rest of you but I never promised not to show up and help her if shit hit the fan. Chase alone or Chase with Sarah, either way they need to be put down."

Tyler was the first one to come around because he couldn't just stand by and do nothing anymore. "I'm in. And if Sarah does have the Power, we'll deal with her."

"No, you won't," Rayna stated that quite firmly. She had a vow to keep and intended to do just that.

"You don't think she should be dealt with?" Reid was still on edge about this whole thing but if they were going to the Barn then he was going to go with them.

Tina saw the look in Rayna's eyes and knew exactly what she meant by her words. "No, my darling Reid. What Rayna is saying – and I'm so proud of her for saying it – is that Sarah is not to be dealt with by you. She's _ours_." After all, Carrie made it clear no Sons would be killing Daughters. But a Daughter killing a Daughter? – No promises were made about that.

* * *

End Part 7


	8. Tina was right - The End

A disoriented Carrie awoke with a strong gasp, feeling as if she'd just emerged from being held under water. Her hands gripped the dirt and old hay upon the ground as she coughed before finally catching her breath. Carrie had no idea what had happened – one second she was standing with Sarah near the others and the next she was…wherever the hell she was. When her eyes finally adjusted to the darkness around her she realized her location; Putnam Barn.

Why was she there? How did she even get there? Carrie made sure her guard was up in case Chase made a move. How could he possibly have gotten to her without anyone noticing – without herself even noticing? Her presence there didn't many any sense. Chase wanted her alive, he told Caleb as much. But if she was there then there was clearly more to Chase's motives – something they hadn't accounted for.

Carrie looked around the seemingly empty Barn and saw no one, but that didn't mean there was no one there. Hearing anything wasn't worth trying either because every sound that could be heard would be drowned out by the storm outside. That's what she thought anyway, which was why she jumped out of her skin when the Barn's doors burst open. She pushed herself to her feet and prepared for a fight but let out a breath of relief to see Caleb entering.

"Carrie?" Caleb rushed to his sister and hugged her tight. After hearing Reid tell him that both she and Sarah were no longer with them, he feared the worst as well as suspected that perhaps Carrie snuck off with Sarah by choice. "What are you doing here? I told you not to come here." He wasn't scolding her exactly, but his voice was riddled with concern.

"It wasn't my decision," Carrie admitted while trying to get her bearings as she held onto her brother's arms for support. Whatever spell that was cast to knock her out made her still a bit wobbly. "Chase must have brought me here. I – I don't know."

Caleb didn't like this one bit. If Chase brought Carrie here then there was clearly more to Chase's plan than he'd been privy to. At the start of the night Caleb had a sense of what was going to happen but now that his sister was there it changed everything and he couldn't risk her getting caught in the crossfire. "You need to get out of here. Now." He held onto Carrie's arm to keep her steady but they weren't even able to make a full step before they heard Chase's voice coming from the loft above.

"Now why would you do that?" Chase called down to them with a wicked grin upon his face. "After all the planning it took to get her here, she's not going anywhere."

"Why do you even want her here?" Caleb shouted back at him as he moved to stand protectively in front of his sister. "This is between us!"

Chase hopped over the railing to stand on the very edge of the loft with a hand gesture that told Caleb he was onto something. "You have a point there, Caleb. You willing me your Power is between us. That's still happening by the way, but I haven't been completely honest." He turned to his side asking, "Would you like to do the honors or shall I?"

The Danvers twins shared confused looks with each other that were soon replaced with shock when Sarah stepped out of the shadows to stand beside Chase.

"Sarah? What is going on?!" Caleb demanded to know. He couldn't believe Sarah would be there by her own volition. "What have you done to her?!"

"My brother hasn't done anything to me," Sarah replied as she placed her hand on Chase's shoulder. "At least, not recently. He has tried to kill me before but once we get the Danvers Power I won't have to worry about that again."

Chase rolled his head with a groaned, "I said I was sorry. How many times must I apologize for that?"

Sarah gripped his shoulder tightly as she leaned closer to his ear. "Until I actually believe you."

Carrie, feeling more steady on her feet now, stepped forward and laughed incredulously. "Someone needs to explain this to us right now before I lose my freaking mind!" Caleb clearly didn't want to hear what they had to say because she saw his eyes turn black. Carrie held her hand out to keep him from doing anything yet. "We need an explanation, Caleb."

"I suppose we do have time to tell them our story before we get down to business." Chase jumped back over the railing onto the loft and paced back and forth a bit. "Once upon a time, my sister Charity and I were put up for adoption. The Collins family already had a daughter and didn't want another, so they split us up. I tried finding my twin when I turned thirteen after being given a taste for the Power but couldn't. I didn't know the family who adopted her had changed her name to Sarah."

Sarah held out her hands like she was presenting herself and picked up from there. "We didn't find each other until after our eighteenth birthday. Which was the day he tried to kill me."

"_I'm sorry_," Chase groaned again. "It wasn't my fault. The seduction took hold that day."

"I still don't believe you," Sarah instantly answered then got back to the story. "Soon after that blip in our relationship we found our birth father and he told us everything – including how I needed to be alive in order for the side effects to not apply to my brother." She looked at him then, "Bet you're glad you didn't kill me now."

Chase rolled his eyes and stood at the railing, gripping it. "Perhaps, but I need more. What I have isn't enough. That is where the two of you come in." He pointed down to the Danvers twins below. "You both are going to will us your Power. More Power means less wiggle room for the seduction. And, well, more Power."

"Don't worry, it won't hurt…much." Sarah bit her lip and giggled. "And you'll both be legends. The Danvers Children who died to save the rest. It will be epic." She saw the look of rage and betrayal on Caleb's face and pouted a bit. "Oh, poor Caleb. You really didn't think I was in love with you, did you? Oh…you did."

Carrie felt like her head was exploding with this influx of information. "Tina was right. I can't believe she was right." Her own anger started to bubble like her brother's as her own eyes turned pitch black. "You – you went after Parker. You bitch!"

"My brother had as much a hand in that as I." Sarah laughed a bit as she spoke.

Chase looked at her and smirked before looking down to the Danvers twins below. "We made her our Weyotch."

"Weyotch?" Sarah laughed. "Oh brother, you need better material than that."

"How's this for better material?" Chase's eyes turned black and thrust out his hands, shooting large energy balls right at the Danvers twins – a direct hit. "Have fun."

"You, too." Sarah leaped off the loft right in front of Carrie below. She shot out her hand and gripped Carrie's throat. A moment later they were teleported outside on top of Putnam Barn with the storm raging all around them, leaving the boys inside to deal with each other.

Sarah laughed as Carrie looked disoriented again and jump backwards, levitating safely on her feet. "You really didn't think we'd talk forever, did you? If you didn't want to hear our life's story you might have had a chance." She tapped her lips in thought. "Actually, no you wouldn't have." Sarah shot out her hand, shooting a blast of energy at Carrie, throwing her backwards.

Carrie was almost thrown right off the roof but Used enough to regain her balance and keep her firmly placed before that could happen. "I will never give you my Power!"

"Yes, you will," Sarah seethed. "Chase will not become more powerful than me!" She threw another energy blast and practically hissed when Carrie leaped up and avoided it.

Carrie shot out a surge of Power of her own, sending Sarah back a ways. These exchanges went back and forth; each Use of Power either impacting or being dodged until finally Sarah blasted Carrie so hard that she was thrown off the Barn's roof.

Carrie wasn't quick enough to keep herself from being thrown off but she managed to Use enough to soften her impact with the ground. Even so, the pain was almost unbearable, but that didn't stop her from rising to her feet to fight again.

Sarah ran off the roof and leaped off, landing several feet away from Carrie. "You've got more fight in you than I thought you would. I'm almost impressed." She Used her Power on Carrie again, sending her straight into a nearby tree and keeping her there. "But Parker, now she was impressive. She fought back as long as she could but Chase defeated her in the end. Poor little Miss Muffet. All those spiders sat down beside her and frightened Miss Muffet away."

Carrie wanted to react so badly but she couldn't, not yet. The time of the Ascension was upon them. The pain of the unlocking Power was excruciating and exhilarating at the same time. She cried out as the new Power surged throughout her body. Every nerve felt like they were on fire, her blood seemed to freeze and melt her veins at the same time, and everything else was indescribable. But the Power – the Power was so intense. She'd never felt anything like it before and for just a moment she could understand why the seduction was able to take hold of a Son.

"Are you finally Ascending?" Sarah threw her head back, looking up into the falling rain, shouting out, "Finally!" She turned her attention back to Carrie. "Now just say the words so we can call it a night."

Before Sarah could say or do anything else, she was blasted from behind and thrown against an old cart nearby. It couldn't have been Carrie because she was still in the Ascending process, which only meant one thing, "The rest of the Daughters have come out to play."

Tina and Rayna stood side by side in front of the Ascending Carrie to keep Sarah away from her. Tyler and Reid were there, too, but they went into the Barn to help Caleb.

Rayna heard what Sarah said and had to tweak her words a bit. "We're not here to play. We're here to stop you." She and Tina shot out her hands in unison, blasting Sarah straight through the cart.

Sarah groaned a bit and brought herself to her feet. "Not bad, ladies. Not bad at all. But not good enough either." She threw out her hand, causing tendrils of energy to shoot out at Tina and Rayna. The tendrils gripped onto their legs and yanked them away from each other and away from Carrie.

By now Carrie had finished Ascending and was done messing around. One after another she shot blasts of Power Sarah's way and hit her each time. She then leaped over Sarah and punched her - with the assistance of her Power - so hard that the force sent Sarah through the Barn's walls.

Carrie shot herself over the Barn and landed on the other side, but didn't see Sarah anywhere. The hole Sarah left in the wall, yes, but not Sarah herself. Carrie doubted Sarah would give up like that so she conjured up a pair of energy balls and slowly looked around to see where she had gone.

"Looking for me?" Sarah shouted as she dragged an semi-unconscious Rayna behind her. She pulled Rayna in front of her and crouched down with her hands around her neck, ready to snap Rayna's neck. "It's time, Carrie! Say the words or she dies! Say the words or Parker dies! And Tina dies! And everyone else who you have ever loved!" Sarah gripped her hands tighter around Rayna and started to twist, "Say them!"

Carrie couldn't let anything happen to Rayna because of her. Something already happened to Parker and Carrie couldn't survive if something happened to Rayna, too. "Okay!" She shouted back to keep Sarah from doing anything. "I'll say them. I'll say the words, just let her go."

Sarah let Rayna go and dropped her to the ground. "I'm waiting." She waved her hands out in front of her before placing them on her hips in an expecting manner.

Carrie closed her eyes and took a deep breath, whispering, "I'm sorry, Caleb." With her eyes right on Sarah she slowly began to say, "I…will…you…"

"You will her nothing!" Tina shouted from behind with a conjured ball of energy and fire in her hands. She screamed and threw the ball right at Sarah, punishing her for everything that she had done and tried to do.

"No!" Carrie cried out because they couldn't afford to let Sarah die, but it was too late.

As soon as the energy and fire impacted with Sarah, she screamed in agony before her body turned to ashes that flowed away in the fallen rain.

Carrie looked towards the Barn, her body shaking. "What have you done? Do you realize what you've just done?!"

Tina helped Rayna to her feet as she shouted back, "I just saved your life! A thank you would be nice!"

"You want me to thank you! You shouldn't have killed her!" Carrie got right up in Tina's face as she cried, "You just made Chase _that_ much stronger."

Tina gasped because she didn't think about that. She didn't think about how Chase would be stronger when Sarah died. All that was on her mind was protecting her Covenant sister, not realizing she'd just put her brother in even more danger. "No…"

"Get her out of here!" Carrie shouted as she ran towards the Barn. "And if you find the guys get them out of here too!" She jumped through the hole in the Barn's wall, finding the inside was caught on fire. Reid was helping an injured Tyler to his feet but neither Chase nor Caleb could be seen. "You okay? Where are they?"

"We'll survive. Chase sent Caleb flying through the window. We tried, Carrie." Reid wished they could have done more, but it was a miracle they were even alive.

Carrie didn't stay behind to hear or do anything else and ran straight through the doors, finding Chase pinning Caleb to the ground. She ran straight towards them and threw a spear of energy at Chase, throwing him right off Caleb.

Chase laughed as he recovered the from impact and moved to stand in front of the Barn. "I'm impressed, Carrie. Once I get Caleb's Power, you will be a formidable sister." He waved his hand for her to move away. "Now step aside. I can't afford anything happening to you now that Sarah is dead." He didn't sound as if he even cared that his twin had died, just moved onto the next best thing.

Caleb stood up beside Carrie, ready to fight along side her. "She'll never belong to you."

Chase sighed heavily. "I warned you what would happen if she didn't comply. Granted I wasn't serious at the time since I had Sarah but now no more Sarah, so I need her." He shrugged in a 'no matter' fashion before looking to Carrie. "Thanks for the Power boost."

Without wasting another moment, Chase started throwing energy balls one after another, each one being blocked by the Danvers twins in unison. Each movement of their bodies were in perfect sync with each other, almost as if they were the same person, being controlled by the same force. This was a concept Chase and his twin had never learned – Using the Power as one.

After a final deflect, both Chase and Carrie suddenly felt even more Powerful as lightning struck above them. That only meant one thing; It meant their father willed them his Power. Now with even more strength than before, the Danvers twins Used their Power on Chase to blast him time and time again in unison until finally they both conjured up a ball of fiery energy. Both Carrie and Caleb screamed out as they thrust this Use of Power to Chase.

Chase leaped up to try and avoid the blast but it followed and shot right through him. He screamed in agony as his body was consumed in a wave of fire before disappearing before their eyes.

Carrie continued to stand ready in case Chase made some sort of comeback, but he didn't. And it didn't seem like he was going to, so she looked at her brother asking, "Is it over?" After everything that had happened Carrie almost couldn't believe that was it.

Caleb returned her look and nodded. "Yeah, I think it is." Granted he wasn't sure what happened to Chase exactly since he just disappeared, but he wasn't there and that's what was important.

Tina, Reid, Tyler, and Rayna joined them as they watched the Putnam Barn burn to the ground. Tina was the first to say something and she said it because what Carrie and Caleb just did was both badass but would be completely terrifying if it was turned against them. "I think we're all going to make more an effort not to get on your bad sides from now on."

* * *

The official story that was given to the authorities when they came to deal with the Barn was the Children were having a party of their own with Chase when they accidentally knocked over a lantern that started the fire. While the Children got out they said they couldn't find Chase and neither did the firemen – they didn't find a body either. So whether Chase did meet the fate his sister had or if he was teleported somewhere else by his own volition or not they didn't know, but they would be more than ready if he ever tried to come back for them.

This and everything else that had happened, Caleb told Parker as he sat in the chair beside her hospital bed. Whatever happened to Chase it cancelled out his spell and she was already getting so much better.

Parker listened to every word Caleb said to her and at the end of it all she sighed, "Tina was right about Sarah. I can't believe it." On a lighter note, she added in, "She's never going to let us live that down." And in Parker's opinion Tina had every right not to let them.

Caleb chuckled at that because any other time he would have agreed but he wasn't too sure anymore. "I don't know. I think Carrie and I have kinda put fear of the Power into her so she'll probably be on her best behavior…for a little while anyway."

Parker laughed and moved some hair behind her ears. "I guess what we should learn from this is maybe sometimes Tina's spidey-senses should be taken seriously." She shuddered lightly because even saying that brought back the memory of what happened with Chase and the spiders. It was going to take some time for her to get over that.

Caleb could gather what the shudder was about and took Parker's hand gently in his. "Nothing like that will ever happen to you again, Parker. If anyone ever tries to hurt you they will have to go through me."

Parker smiled at Caleb then looked down, mustering up the courage to say something but decided to lead into it instead. "I fought back." She looked up to meet Caleb's eyes. "When Chase came after me, I didn't cower. I fought back until I couldn't fight any more and I keep thinking if I had the strength to do that then why shouldn't I have the strength to do something else?" She could tell Caleb was about to speak so she spoke before he could. "I like you, Caleb. Like…a lot. I have for a long time and I get it if you don't feel the same and never want to acknowledge this conversation ever happened…" Her voice trailed off when Caleb kissed her hand.

"I want to continue this conversation when you're better. Over dinner, perhaps?" Caleb smiled when Parker looked completely dumbfounded. He kissed her hand again and stood up. "I'm not going to rush this, Parker. You mean too much to me to rush."

Parker nodded like an idiot – at least she felt like she was nodding like an idiot – and the only thing that could come out of her mouth was, "Okay." It took everything she had not to start giggling but managed to keep that at bay.

Caleb smiled again, wishing he'd said something sooner but better late than never. "I'll be back later. Rest up." He leaned down and kissed Parker's cheek before leaving her room. Caleb then walked down the hall to check on Pogue but didn't go into his room because through the window he could see Carrie laying on Pogue's bed with him and Pogue's arms wrapped around her, the both of them asleep.

Caleb wasn't going to disturb them so he continued down the hall and turned the corner, coming to a halt when he almost walked right into a set of teenagers who strongly resembled each other. "Excuse me." He was about to walk past them but stopped when the young man side-stepped him.

"Are you Caleb Danvers?" the boy asked, despite the tone of his voice sounding as if there was no question about it.

"Yes," Caleb looked at them both oddly. "Why do you ask?" He couldn't shake the feeling that he recognized them somehow but couldn't place where.

"I'm Naomi Richards and this is my twin brother Nathan," the girl answered, gesturing to herself and her brother in turn. "We need to talk to you. It's important."

Caleb had a bad feeling when he was told they were twins but was willing to hear them out. "What do you need to talk to me about?"

Nathan and Naomi looked at each other before Nathan partially ripped off the Band-Aid. "For starters we should tell you our birthname is Goodwin Pope."

Naomi picked up from there saying, "And now that we have their Power, we'd like to know what we can do to _not_ to end up like our older siblings…"

* * *

**The End**


	9. Alternate Ending

The official story that was given to the authorities when they came to deal with the Barn was the Children were having a party of their own with Chase when they accidentally knocked over a lantern that started the fire. While the Children got out they said they couldn't find Chase and neither did the firemen – they didn't find a body either. So whether Chase did meet the fate his sister had or if he was teleported somewhere else by his own volition or not they didn't know, but they would be more than ready if he ever tried to come back for them.

This and everything else that had happened, Caleb told Parker as he sat in the chair beside her hospital bed. Whatever happened to Chase it cancelled out his spell and she was already getting so much better.

Parker listened to every word Caleb said to her and at the end of it all she sighed, "Tina was right about Sarah. I can't believe it." On a lighter note, she added in, "She's never going to let us live that down." And in Parker's opinion Tina had every right not to let them.

Caleb chuckled at that because any other time he would have agreed but he wasn't too sure anymore. "I don't know. I think Carrie and I have kinda put fear of the Power into her so she'll probably be on her best behavior…for a little while anyway."

Parker laughed and moved some hair behind her ears. "I guess what we should learn from this is maybe sometimes Tina's spidey-senses should be taken seriously." She shuddered lightly because even saying that brought back the memory of what happened with Chase and the spiders. It was going to take some time for her to get over that.

Caleb could gather what the shudder was about and took Parker's hand gently in his. "Nothing like that will ever happen to you again, Parker. If anyone ever tries to hurt you they will have to go through me."

Parker smiled at Caleb then looked down, mustering up the courage to say something but decided to lead into it instead. "I fought back." She looked up to meet Caleb's eyes. "When Chase came after me, I didn't cower. I fought back until I couldn't fight any more and I keep thinking if I had the strength to do that then why shouldn't I have the strength to do something else?" She could tell Caleb was about to speak so she spoke before he could. "I like you, Caleb. Like…a lot. I have for a long time and I get it if you don't feel the same and never want to acknowledge this conversation ever happened…" Her voice trailed off when Caleb kissed her hand.

"I want to continue this conversation when you're better. Over dinner, perhaps?" Caleb smiled when Parker looked completely dumbfounded. He kissed her hand again and stood up. "I'm not going to rush this, Parker. You mean too much to me to rush."

Parker nodded like an idiot – at least she felt like she was nodding like an idiot – and the only thing that could come out of her mouth was, "Okay." It took everything she had not to start giggling but managed to keep that at bay.

Caleb smiled again, wishing he'd said something sooner but better late than never. "I'll be back later. Rest up." He leaned down and kissed Parker's cheek before leaving her room. Caleb then walked down the hall to check on Pogue but didn't go into his room because through the window he could see Carrie laying on Pogue's bed with him and Pogue's arms wrapped around her, the both of them asleep.

Caleb wasn't going to disturb them so he continued down the hall and turned the corner, coming to a halt when he almost walked right into a set of teenagers who strongly resembled each other. "Excuse me." He was about to walk past them but stopped when the young man side-stepped him.

"Are you Caleb Danvers?" the boy asked, despite the tone of his voice sounding as if there was no question about it.

"Yes," Caleb looked at them both oddly. "Why do you ask?" He couldn't shake the feeling that he recognized them somehow but couldn't place where.

"I'm Naomi Richards and this is my twin brother Nathan," the girl answered, gesturing to herself and her brother in turn. "We need to talk to you. It's important."

Caleb had a bad feeling when he was told they were twins but was willing to hear them out. "What do you need to talk to me about?"

Nathan and Naomi looked at each other before Nathan partially ripped off the Band-Aid. "For starters we should tell you our birthname is Goodwin Pope."

Naomi picked up from there saying, "And now that we have their Power, we'd like to know what we can do to _not_ to end up like our older siblings."

Seemingly out of nowhere, Carrie appeared behind Caleb asking this new set of twins, "What makes you think you _won't_ end up like them?"

Caleb's eyes shot right at his sister when she said that, wondering where something like that came from. "Carrie -" He wasn't able to say anything else due to Carrie walking away without a word, leaving a chill and flickering lights above in her wake...

* * *

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed this Alternate Ending, and thankyou for reading The Children of Ipswich.**


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